Notes: Post Independence - 6 | Post Independence History for UPSC Mains PDF Download

Issues in Other States

• In Bengal, communists had a particularly strong hold since even before independence. CPI organized a large number of mass movements to address issues related to workers, trade unions and peasants. 
• Congress was defeated in the state in 1967 elections and a United Front government was formed with CPM support, but could not last long and in this time, CPM also gained popularity. In this time, Naxalism was also on the rise and was dealt with severity which further led to popularity of CPM as an alternative. 
• Finally in 1977, CPM came to power and remained for next 35 years or so. One of the biggest achievements of CPM was tenancy reforms. After coming to power, it launched a program called 'Operation Barga' which reformed the tenancy or jotedari system in favor of bargadars or sharecroppers and it benefitted 25% of households. 
• Jotedars were intermediaries between sharecroppers or actual cultivators and zmindars or land owners who collected rent and they were not eliminated completely, but their share was limited. 
• It ensured security of tenure to the sharecroppers through legal registration and laws were also passed limiting the share of the landowner, thus, improving their incomes as well. 
• Reforms in jotedari system also improved agricultural productivity leading in income of both jotedars and sharecroppers. Another step taken by CPM was unearthing of Benami land holdings which were otherwise above land ceiling. Government also supplemented these two activities with credit expansion and hence bringing them out of clutches of money lenders.
• Panchayati Raj system was also reformed and acted as a vehicle for these agrarian reforms. Record of CPM government in curbing communal violence is also remarkable as it had significant Hindu and Muslim population and more remarkably so during Babri riots when whole nation was under communal siege. 
• However, CPM government failed miserably in one area - industrial development and it failed to come up with an alternate strategy as well.

Kashmir issue is another touchy regional issue. The 'Kashmir issue' is not just a dispute between India and Pakistan. This issue has external and internal dimensions. 

• It involves the issue of Kashmiri identity known as Kashmiriyat and the aspirations of the people of J&K for political autonomy. It is the issue of secular principle vs Two Nations Theory. It is an issue of national integration of India. Related to this issue is the debate over propriety of special provision for the state. 
• This special status has provoked two opposite reactions. There is a section of people outside of J&K that believes that the special status of the State conferred by Article 370 does not allow full integration of the State with India. 
• This section feels that Article 370 should therefore be revoked and J&K should be like any other State in India. Another section, mostly Kashmiris, believe that the autonomy conferred by Article 370 is not enough. The special federal status guaranteed by Article 370, has been eroded in practice. 
• This has led to the demand for restoration of autonomy or 'Greater State Autonomy'. It is felt that democracy which is practiced in the rest of India has not been similarly institutionalized in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. 
• However, over the years, the special status has been considerably diluted. Jurisdiction of many union institutions like Supreme Court, Election Commission, Auditor General etc have been extended to the state. Constitutional provisions like fundamental rights have also been extended to the state. Similarly, Parliament may now make laws for state and President's rule can also be imposed. State's services are also integrated with All India Services.
• Another grave issue is the rise of insurgency in the state. During most of the period between 1953 and 1974, the Congress party exercised a lot of influence on the politics of the State. 
• In the 1987 Assembly election took place. The official results showed a massive victory for the National Conference - Congress alliance and Farooq Abdullah returned as Chief Minister. But it was widely believed that the results did not reflect popular choice, and that the entire election process was rigged. 
• A popular resentment had already been brewing in the State against the inefficient administration and dilution of special status since early 1980s. This was now augmented by the commonly prevailing feeling that democratic processes were being undermined at the behest of the Centre. 
• This generated a political crisis in Kashmir which became severe with the rise of insurgency. By 1989, the State had come in the grip of a militant movement mobilized around the cause of a separate Kashmiri nation. The insurgents got moral, material and military support from Pakistan. Lakhs of Kashmiri Pundits were also forced to leave the state during this period. 
• For several years the State was under President's rule and effectively under the control of the armed forces. Throughout the period from 1990, Jammu and Kashmir experienced violence at the hands of the insurgents and through army action. 
• Assembly elections in the State were held only in 1996 in which the National Conference led by Farooq Abdullah came to power with a demand for regional autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. J&K experienced a very fair election in 2002. 
• The National Conference failed to win a majority and was replaced by People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress coalition government. People often complain of neglect and backwardness. Therefore, the demand for intra-State autonomy is as strong as the demand for the state autonomy.

Punjab was also engulfed in a separatist movement during 1980s which was grossly communal in nature. Communalism had a long history in Punjab dating back to colonial times. 

• Soon after independence, allegations of discrimination were made by the Sikh leaders on national leadership. Two issues that dominated in early years were - issue of language of administration and education. While Hindu communalists wanted Hindi, Sikh communalists wanted Gurumukhi. 
• Second issue was a demand for a separate Punjabi suba on the basis of language, which was actually not on the basis of language, but on the basis of religion and was rejected by State Reorganization Commission as well. 
• Akali Dal represented itself as the sole guardian of the Sikhs and it used SGPC's control over gurudwaras to mobilize the crowds. Nehru tried to have an accommodative approach and conceded Akali demands which were secular in nature which was also seen by Hindu communalists at times as minority appeasement. 
• Earlier demands of language and separate Punjabi suba were met by Indira Gandhi in 1966. Akalis however didn't get majority in 1967 elections and didn't emerge as the dominant political force as they had envisaged. As a result, they made the communal demands even stronger and this time also revived the separatist agenda which became strident in 1980s. 
• Earlier in 1973, one of the Akali Dals had also submitted a resolution (Anandpur Sahib Resolution) to the government with many demands including non-sharing of river waters, control over Chandigarh and launched a virulent campaign.
• Parallel to Akali militacy, terrorism led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale also raised its head in Punjab in 1981 as a culmination of communal politics. He was also tacitly supported by Punjab Congress and especially Giani Zail Singh to counter Akalis, but he later became a Frankenstein monster. 
• Many Akali, Nirankari and even Congress leaders were killed by Bhindranwale along with some journalists, dissidents etc. Bhindranwale moved to Golden Temple to protect himself and for a long time directed his campaign from there and his campaign was growing highly fundamentalist and anti-national in character. 
• From 1983, Hindus were targeted on a large scale, banks were looted and they even killed an Inspector General of police in premise of Golden Temple. 
• Golden Temple became a hub of smuggled arms and a training center of terrorists and became a center of a parallel government type regime. Indira Gandhi refused to take stern action for three long years from 1981-84 and it encourage the terrorists a great deal. 
• In the meanwhile, Pakistan also started stoking secessionist tendencies in a dangerous manner. Hindu-Sikh tension also peaked. Situation almost reached a dead end and the government had to call army to flush militants out of Golden Temple in a surgical operation named 'Operation Bluestar' in June 1984. 
• However, militants were far greater in number and when army seized the shrine, many devotees were still trapped inside. In cross fire, building of temple was also severely damaged and finally all the militants were either killed or captured. 
• Bhindranwale was also dead. Sikhs all over India were angered over the manner in which the operation was carried out and in vengeance, Indira Gandhi was killed in the same year in October 1984 by her two Sikh bodyguards.
• Indira Gandhi's assassination stoked communal riots killing thousands of Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of India. When Rajiv Gandhi assumed power major jailed leaders were released and political climate was mellowing down and elections were held in 1985 in which Akalis emerged winner. 
• However, Akalis failed to put a check on resurgent terrorism and Surjit Singh Barnala government was dismissed in 1987. Khalistan movement kept on becoming stronger amidst cycles of waxing and waning and it seemed that both central and state government had lost the strategic gains made during Operation Bluestar as even Rajiv Gandhi led central government failed to take advantage of President's rule. 
• It was only during Narsimha Rao government that Beant Singh led Congress government in state took a firm stance against terrorism and terrorism was finally flushed out of Punjab by end of 1993, but not before more than 1500 policemen, many leaders of CPI, CPM and Congress and the Chief Minister Beant Singh himself losing their lives. 
• Communalism and terrorism in Punjab could be suppressed because common man largely didn't subscribe to the views of communal ideologues and Punjab had a rich history of secular movements and leadership including Ghadar Party, Kirti Kisan movement, Bhagat Singh, a strong communist presence etc. People could differentiate that secessionism and fundamentalism is not synonymous with religious cause.

Agriculture and Land Reforms

• The traditional nature of Indian agriculture was altered by the colonial impact. It created more classes and commoditized land. Colonial rule introduced high tax regime, evil of intermediaries like zamindars and sub-zamindars, growth of landlordism, rack-renting on a very wide scale, destroyed traditional handicraft and artisanal industry, increased the number of the landless and so on. 
• Instead of imbibing a modern capitalist outlook, colonial rule pushed agriculture into backwardness. Problem of small holdings were further accentuated by their fragmentations. Extremely high taxes led to high indebtedness and bonded labor. 
• In such situation, where the bulk of the Indian peasantry was drained of any resources, living close to or below subsistence level, and where the upper sections of rural society found rent and usury more profitable than capitalist agriculture as a source of income, very little agriculture investment and improvement actually took place. Backwardness of industry also led to overcrowding of the agriculture and industry failed to absorb surplus rural labor.
• Support to the cause of peasantry started very early in the national movement. Early outfits like Poone Sarvajanik Sabha and Indian Association raised their issues aggressively. 
• 1920s saw peasants movements emerging in Uttar Pradesh and Malabar in close association with Non­cooperation and Khilafat movements. Bardoli Satyagrah of 1928 emerged as a model peasant movement and marked the unification of the peasant struggle and the national movement to an unprecedented level. 
• Indian National Congress at its Karachi Session of 1931 included agriculture agenda also in its 'Fundamental Rights and economic Program’ and included provisions like reduction of rent or revenue, relief from agricultural indebtedness etc. 
• Bihar Kisan Sabha adopted the slogan of Zamindari abolition. Communist and socialist also joined the cause of peasantry. The movement was given a pan-Indian shape with formation of All India Kisan Sabha in 1936 which joined by likes of Jawahar Lal Nehru as well. When Congress formed provincial governments in 1937, it brought various measures to alleviate the condition of peasants. 
• For example - in Bihar, tenancy legislations were passed which abolished all increases in rent since 1911. In 1942, national leadership further grew sympathetic to cause of peasantry and Gandhiji even suggested that peasants should seize the land of landlords and landlords should respond by giving the land in favor of those who cultivate it. 
• After the war, the peasant movements which had subsided during it again revived. Congress appointed 'Agrarian Reforms Committee' soon after Independence under leadership of J C Kumarappa in 1949 and in its Nagpur session of 1959, it brought out a radical program for improving conditions of peasant class.

Land reforms that were started covered 4 broad areas -

I. Abolition of intermediaries like zamindars and jagirdars - A number of states had introduced zamindari abolition laws by 1949. However, often it was marred by litigations and termed as a violation of right to property. Government had to bring first constitutional amendment to counter it. Another difficulty in its implementation was absence of land records. 

• Compensation paid to zamindars for acquisition of their lands varied from state to state and was even zero in states like Kashmir. However, the program of the abolition of Zamindari system was beset with many problems. In states like Uttar Pradesh, zamindars were permitted to keep lands that were declared to be under their personnel cultivation and what constituted personnel cultivation was very loosely defined. 
• In some states like Bihar, there was no limit on the size of land that could be kept under personal cultivation. Big landlords also pressurized state legislators to pass legislations in their favor as land is a state subject. If passed, such laws were frequently subjected to litigation. Implementation of laws was also shabby and revenue officers often colluded with the zamindars.

II. Tenancy reforms - These reforms had three basic objectives - first, to guarantee security of tenure to the tenants who had cultivated a piece of land for a fixed particular number of years. Secondly, to seek the reduction of rents paid by the tenants to a fair level. Thirdly, to provide for opportunity to tenant to gain ownership of the lands he cultivated subject to certain restrictions. 

• Such legislations sought to balance the interests of tenants and landowners. However, in many cases official contracts were not entered into and as a result tenancy continued in a concealed manner hence not protected by the legislations. 
• Tenants were also converted into sharecroppers who were not treated as tenants by the law. Tenancy reforms were particularly successful in states of West Bengal and Kerala. In West Bengal, Operation Barga in 1977 was launched for tenancy reforms. 
• Tenancy laws by and large failed to provide security of tenure to tenants. Reduction of rent to a fair level was almost impossible to achieve as often market determined rents were always higher than those mentioned in legislations. Success of Green Revolution also led to rise in rents in Northern India.

III. Ceilings on size of landholdings - Ceilings were proposed to make land distribution more equitable. However, it met with many difficulties. In many states, ceilings fixed were very high. Further, in most areas, ceilings were placed on individuals and not on family. 

• Benami transactions were also made to escape ceiling. Further, many exemption clauses were added, which made imposition of ceiling with many loopholes. Further, long delay in brining in the legislations and frequent litigations defeated the very purpose of ceiling as most of the land holders devised methods to escape it. 
• It could be implemented with some success only in Jammu and Kashmir. To make the ceiling legislations more effective, government also brought 34th Amendment to the constitution and included the revised ceiling laws in the Ninth Schedule. 
• With this renewed effort in 1970s, some success was achieved in redistribution of the surplus land. However, still only 2% of the cultivable area could be redistributed. Another significant contribution was those of Bhoodan and Gramdan movements. Bhoodan voluntarily aimed at land re-distribution. 
• Acharya Vinoba Bhave who was a Gandhian social worker, launched this movement in 1951. He organized 'Sarvodya Samaj' a federation of constructive workers. He and his followers took a march of feet (padyatra) to persuade large landowners to donate at least 1/6th of their land for redistribution among the landless and target was 50 million acres - 1/6th of 300 million acres land. 
• He was also joined by Jaypprakash Narayan who left active politics for constructive social work. The movement started from Pochapalli village of Telangana region Andhra. 
• In early phases it received almost 4 million acres as donation. However, the movement lost momentum after some time. Further, most of the land donated was either disputed or unfit for cultivation. 
• The movement took a new form in form of Gramdanin 1955 which derived its idea from the Gandhian notion that all village land belongs to Gopal or God i.e. land in a Gramdan village will collectively belong to all villagers. The movement started in Orissa and was most successful there. It is argued that this movement emerged in mainly in those villages where class differentiation has yet not emerged.

IV. Cooperativization and community development programs - First plan laid the foundation of cooperative movement in India, though it had been suggested by J C Kumarappa led Agrarian reforms Committee as well. Government gave priority to service cooperatives and cooperative farming was pursued only on voluntary basis where conditions were mature. 

• However, the movement could not succeed for various reasons. Rich farmers employed proxy members to evade land ceiling laws. These were used by elite strata to take substantial financial assistance offered by the state in form of subsidy, agricultural seeds, fertilizers etc. 
• Pilot cooperative farms were run like any government sponsored project rather than genuine motivated, joint efforts of the cultivators led them to be generally expensive unsuccessful pursuits. 
• Service cooperatives like credit societies were relatively successful, but they also suffered certain limitations as they too fell into hands of rural elite and were victim of politicization. Cooperative credit societies also suffered huge defaults which were mostly well-to-do peasants. 
• Populist measures like loan waiver by National Front government in 1990 also led to significant blow to repayment measures. One successful cooperative effort worth mentioning is milk cooperative movement which started from Gujarat from Kaira or Kheda village which also harbingered White Revolution. 
• Peasants of Kheda used to supply milk through intermediary traders into villages and felt cheated and they formed cooperatives to counter this problem and themselves started to supply milk after advice of leaders like Patel. 
• 'Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd' was registered as a cooperative society in 1946. V Kurien an engineer from Kerala also put his efforts towards success of this movement. Slowly, the cooperative society diversified its activities and also started to provide better seeds, immunization, rural outreach for veterinary services, frozen and processed dairy products and so on. 
• Government also decided to replicate Anand Pattern in other parts of country and formed 'National Dairy Development Board' located in Anand itself with Kurein as its chairman and it launched 'Operation Flood' which showed great result during 1990s. Another big achievement of milk cooperative movement was that around 60% of the beneficiaries were marginal or small farmers. It also promoted indigenous equipment industry as well. Women empowerment also got a significant push by establishment of many women dairy cooperatives with the help of NGOs like SEWA.
• Land reforms didn't produce very dramatic results as they did in various other parts of the world like China in form of communes. However, they did lead to substantial amount of self-cultivation and hence incentivized greater investment in agriculture for improving productivity. 
• It was also successful in rooting out the feudal elements from Indian agriculture. There were also other reasons for failure of reforms. Population increase made the small gains in form of redistribution and ceiling as ineffective. Industrialization also failed to absorb the surplus labor.
• Another effort was made in form of Green Revolution in 1960s to improve yield and farm incomes. It was brought in background of stagnated growth in agriculture, high food imports through schemes like PL-480, draughts and rising population. It introduced High Yield Varieties (HYV) seeds of wheat and rice. Mexican dwarf wheat was introduced in wheat growing northern areas. It was also coupled by availability of fertilizers and credit. Green revolution made India food surplus nation, but also had many other social and economic fallouts as well.

Agrarian Struggles

• Agrarian struggles post independence had a considerably changed nature as now they were against the policies of a welfare state. They were partly in reaction to structural disparities that still existed and partly in reaction to the hopes that were belied.
• Telangana peasant struggle was one of the early manifestations. Peasants of Telangana suffered an extreme form of feudal oppression in the hands of jagirdars and deshmukhs, some of who had thousands of acres of land. 
• Peasants also suffered excessive grain levy and begar at the hands of government, landlords and officials. The movement was organized by the Communist leadership which organized peasantry in form of armed guerilla rebellion groups or dalams for attacking the landlords, armed paramilitary groups razakars and officials. 
• When Nizam was displaced by Indian army, Communist leadership gave a call to fight out Indian government as well. It saw Indian government also a symbol of bourgeoisie rule and gave call for true liberation. In a tragic fight with Indian army, thousands of peasants suffered.
• Another movement post independence was that of Patiala Muzara movement. It was a movement by the muzaras against the Biswedars or the landlords who had limited rights over land during British rule, but gained significant hold after independence. Peasants organized themselves into armed groups under communist leadership like Teja Singh Swatantra in 1948.
• Other movement post independence included Naxalbari movement and movement by tribal peasants of Srikakulam of Andhra Pradesh which were also driven by communist ideology. Both of these movements were influenced by the thoughts of Mao Zedong and aspired radical change in the social structure.
• Another stream of popular agrarian movement is categorized as 'New Farmers Movement'. These movements were based upon ideas of relative deprivation and were not led by the marginalized peasantry class, but by well to do farmers lobby. 
• Shetkari Ssanghtan of Sharad Joshi, Bhartiya Kisan Union of Mahendra Singh Tikait were such organizations which represented new demands like increase in subsidy, free electricity, rise in MSP and so on.

Women since Independence

• Before independence, women's movement got a significant push during National Movement.
• Many organizations like All India Women's Conference were formed. Social condition was aimed to be improved after independence through legislations like Hindu Code Bill. Shah Bano Case also provided government an opportunity to ameliorate conditions of Muslim women which government failed to cash on.
• In social movements also, women exhibited high levels of participation. For example - in Tebhaga movement in Bengal, women organized themselves into Nari Bahini. 
• In Telangana peasant struggle also their participation was significant. A Gandhian organization Textile Labor's Union in Gujarat also formed its women's wing Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) led by Ela Bhatt which took the cause of women in unorganized sector and played a role in organizing them, training them and giving them better collective bargaining power. 
• Women also participated in Chipko movement of Uttrakhand. In Madhya Pradesh, Mahila Mukti Morcha was formed in 1970s to take up the cause of tribals. After emergency, women's group in Delhi were led by able leaders like Madhu Kishwar. 
• Similarly, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan played an important role in getting justice for the affected. After 1980s, there is a shift in women's movements away from mass campaigns and to less dramatic works like setting up of women's centers for legal aid, counseling, documentation, research, publication and so on.

Indian Economy and Industrialization After Independence

• Colonial rule debilitated domestic industry by destroying indigenous industries and by discouraging growth of modern industry on the other hand. A small, but independent, industrial base with Indian ownership and control emerged between 1914-47 and by the times, Indian were also doing well in field of finance and banking as well. Large business conglomerates like Tatas, Birlas, Singhania, Dalmias have emerged during that period itself.
• Post independence a pure Soviet model was not followed and private capital was given space in a mixed economy which primarily aimed at import substitution, self-dependence and rapid Industrialization. 
• Planned economic growth was at the heart of strategy of development. Even before independence, Bombay Plan was drafted in 1945 by major Industrialists who favored growth of capital goods industry to reduce dependency. 
• Since capital goods industry offers return in long term, it could be funded by public money only in an underdeveloped country. First Plan could focus on problems at hand only and it was 2nd Plan or Nehru Mahalanobis Plan that laid foundation of industrial growth in India. 
• However, care was taken that it doesn't promote regional imbalance, prevents wealth concentration and interests of small labor intensive industries are not hurt. However, the period also laid the foundation of license raj as well. 
• Savings and investment rates significantly increased. GDP growth rate was also 4 times than colonial average in first 2 decades. Industry grew at a rate of more than 7% during first three plans and agriculture too grew at more than 3% at a rate much better than during colonial period. 
• Public sector captured 'commanding heights' and further marginalized an already small foreign sector. In social sector also considerable investments were made. Scientific research was also rapidly promoted and CSIR was established with many of its labs. Similarly atomic energy was also given a push with establishment of Atomic Energy Commission in 1948.
• Two successive monsoon failures of 1965 and 1966 brought significant hardship to the Indian economy. Wars in 1962 and 1965 also added pressure on economy and inflation too reached to alarming levels. 
• So much so that, even long term planning was to be suspended for three years - 1966-69 and instead, annual plans were rolled out. Foreign aid also declined in wake of 1965 war and India's criticism of Vietnam War, the US also put stop on PL-480 wheat loan. Pressure was put on India to liberalize her economy and devalue currency, but when India did so situation of Indian economy worsened and government was even criticized for devaluing the currency. 
• The government took a left turn and many measures like MRTP Act, FERA Act, Nationalization of banks and industry was taken up starting from 1969 till 1970s. In the same period, Green Revolution also happened leading to food security.
• However, a few shortcomings were also associated with the approach taken by government in early years. Import substitution insulated Indian industry form competition and curbed outside exposure. It led to inefficiencies into the industry and technological backwardness. 
• MRTP Act too went against basic principle of economies of scale which is at the heart of capitalist development and hence punished efficiency. Political pressures, bureaucratic hurdles and trade unionism further worsened the situation. 
• Indian economy failed to develop a competitive edge when nature of international markets changed from domestic production to outsourcing and early movers like China and east Asian countries reaped the benefits. 
• India failed to benefit from changing nature of international capital. Government expenses were fast outstripping its incomes and as a result fiscal deficit touched dangerous levels of 10% and debt increased from 30% in 1970 to 54% in 1991 having domino effects in forms of inflation, lower foreign capital inflow and lesser industrial investments. 
• Though India grew at an average of 5.5% in the decade 1980-90, it was largely a debt led growth based on huge government expenditures and deficit. Forex reserve fell drastically to just $2.1 billion in 1990, just enough to meet one month's imports. 
• Iraqi invasion of Kuwait further fueled oil prices and it further strained Indian economy. Situation was so acute that government had to sell its 20 tonnes of gold to banks of Switzerland. These were the situations in which minority governments led by Narsimha Rao liberalized the Indian economy and brought economic reforms also termed as 'structural adjustment program' partly under IMF and World Bank pressure in exchange of aid. 
• Exchange rate was now almost deregulated, licensing system in industries was considerably dismantled, MRTP Act was abolished, disinvestment of public sector started, FDI and FII was promoted and so on. As a result, Indian economy staged a quick recovery and 8th plan (1992-97) averaged growth rate of 7%. Debt to GDP ratio was also improved at 28% by 1995-96. Reforms in stock market also led to dramatic change in capitalization.
• Money economists argue that economic liberalization has exposed India of global shocks and have again integrated Indian economy in a subservient manner. 
• Investment in the capital goods industry remains still poor and poverty levels have also not come down significantly. No serious steps were taken to boost public savings and improve the condition of public sector. Labor market also remained non-reformed. In 1996-97, Indian economy was also hit by East Asian Economic Crisis. In 1999, Indian economy was hit by sanctions in wake of nuclear tests conducted by India.