A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIA
The beginning of recorded history on the Indian sub-continent came in around
2,500BC with the rise of a civilization based around the Indus River valley, in
modern day Pakistan. Although little remains today of this early civilisation,
it covered an area of just under one and a half million square miles, which is
considerably larger than modern day Pakistan. The excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
- two massive walled cities each measuring nearly a mile in diameter - reveal
a highly organised, and advanced society based on agriculture and international
trade. The weaving of cotton and wool is believed to have originated here in around
2,000BC, and trade relations extended from Mesopotamia in the west to Tibet in
the east. The Indus Valley civilisation flourished for about 1,000 years before
finally succumbing to social stagnation and the environment. It is thought that
a large change in the course of the Indus River resulted in a series of disastrous
floods.
By around 1,000 BC onwards Aryan peoples, from the steppes of central Asia, swept
south and east into the Indus river valley, bringing with them great change. A
naturally more war like people, the fair-skinned Aryans conquered and subjugated
the local inhabitants and bought with them a completely new way of life, including
the Sanskrit language and a new religion. Although nomadic people, the Aryans were in many
ways more technologically advanced than the Indus Valley people they had conquered,
having tamed the horse and developed fast moving chariots with spoked wheels.
Unlike their predecessors the Aryans left virtually nothing behind in the archaeological
record. Their nomadic roots meant that they built no large cities, but rather
their buildings were made from bamboo and mud, and they lived in tribal groups
much like back on the steppes of Russia.
However, a great deal is know about the Aryans through their Vedas, religious verses that were handed down over the centuries by word of mouth
only later to be written down. The best know are the Mahabharata and Ramayana, two massive volumes of poems and verses that vividly describe the Aryan way
of life, and which now form the basis of the Hindu religion. These books tell
of a warlike people divided into tribes ruled by a king or raja. Their favourite pastimes seem to have been fighting, chariot racing, gambling,
drinking and music, and the tribes were constantly at war with each other.
The word Arya means ‘noble’ or ‘high born’ and this is how the Aryans saw themselves.
They already used a three-class system and soon expanded this to four, the highest
being the Brahmin – priest; then the Kshatriyas – warriors; then the Vaishyas
– cultivators and merchants; and finally the newly subjugated people of the area
making up the Sudras – the lowest class. This class system is the earliest begins
on the modern caste system in India.
In the sixth century BC two new religions emerged, Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhism
or ‘Enlightened One’ evolved out of Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC), the son of
a ruler of a small kingdom in the Nepalese foothills, and his search for self-enlightenment.
His simple teaching of a priestless and casteless society easily struck-a-cord
in a population that was increasingly dissatisfied by the very strict and rigid
Vedic view of life. Jainism comes from the teaching of Vardhamana Mahavira (540-468
BC), who’s teachings are very similar to that of The Buddha but involve a much
greater level of self-denial, and a belief that all living things are sacred -
hence all Jains are strict vegetarians. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism did not die out
in India and there are still several million Jains living in India today.
By the 6 th century BC, when the Persian Empire was at its greatest under the emperor Darius
I, most of Northwest India was lost to the Persians. This newly claimed province
‘Gandharan’ was to become the richest province of the Persian Empire. However,
by this time the Aryans had already pushed well east into the Indian sub-continent
forming various kingdoms, the most powerful being Magadha.
Persian rule eventually gave way to the onslaught of the Macedonian conqueror
Alexander the Great, who finally defeated Darius III in 330 BC, taking control
of his vast empire in the process. Unsatisfied with his gains Alexander pushed
on, crossing the mighty Hindu Kush Mountains, to reach the Indus River by 326BC.
After a gruelling campaign with many hard battles, including the battle at the
Hydaspes (Jhelum) River where his troops were confronted by some 50,000 troops
and 200 war elephants, Alexander’s army mutinied, forcing him to leave Asia just
short of the wealthy and powerful kingdom of Magadha. Although Alexander left
Greek colonies to control northwestern India, after his death in 323 BC, chaos
in the region led to the rise of the Mauryas.
Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryas dynasty rose to power with the
aid of his ruthless Brahmin advisor, Kautilya, overthrowing the reigning king
of Magadha. Immediately consolidating his power in Northern India he soon forced
the Greeks back out of Afghanistan and laid the foundations for the Mauryas dynasty,
which lasted for nearly 140 years. During the Mauryas reign their empire expanded
to include most of the Indian sub-continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan),
and at its height was ruled by king Asok, famous for his Buddhist philosophy and
his adoption of the rule of Dhrama ‘righteous or moral law’. During his rule he
erected many massive polished stone pillars inscribed with edicts to his people,
an excellent example of which can still be seen today at Lauriya Nandangarh near
the Nepali border. The success of the Mauryan dynasty lay in its retention of
a massive standing army, heavy taxation and an efficient, bureaucratic system
of government devised by Chandragupta’s advisor Kautilya, and record in the classic
Indian text Arthashastra.
Following the death of Asoka in 232 BC the Mauryan Empire began to crumble and
eventually broke up into rival kingdoms. Smaller empires rose and fell, the Sunga
and Kanvas dynasties of central India, and the Andhras dynasty in the south. The
Greek colony of Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan), a legacy of Alexander the Great’s
empire, recaptured Northwest India in 190 BC and created a new Indo-Greek kingdom.
By the middle of the 1 st century BC expansion of the Han dynasty in China had led to greater incursions
by the nomadic tribes of the steppes into India, and the rise of the Kushan kingdom,
which at its height under King Kanishka (r.78-114 AD) stretched as far east as
Varanasi. Following the decline of the Kushan dynasty, and a return to smaller
warring kingdoms, at the start of the 4 th century AD another Chandragupta rose to power and established the mighty Gupta
Empire. This great empire tried to recapture some of the past glories of the Mauryan
Empire and it was deliberately modelled on that former Empire. The standard of
living was high and the arts flourished, particularly in the shape of wonderful
architecture and sculpture. Also the strong Hindu beliefs of the Guptas led to
a greater strengthening of the caste system. Lasting for over 150 years and covering
most of northern India the Gupta Empire finally succumbed to weak leadership and
the arrival of another wave of nomadic barbarians from the steppes - the Huns.
Although this whole period of Indian history was largely fragmented and political
unstable, trade and prosperity flourished and the arts and culture reached new
heights, to such an extent that this period is often referred to as the ‘Golden
Age’ of Indian civilization.
At end of the 7 th century the onslaught of Islam had begun and by the start of the 8 th century Arab raiders succeeded in capturing the Sind (the area around Karachi
in modern-day Pakistan), which has remained Muslim ever since. The following 300
years or so saw no further advances by the Muslims and instead the Rajputs of
Northern and central India dominate this period of history. Thought to be descended
from the conquering Huns, the Rajputs can be compared to the knights of mediaeval
Europe - strong, colourful and chivalrous. Forming warrior clans they constantly
vied with each other for control over northern India.
The true Muslim invasions came by the end of the 10 th century and were led by the Seljuk Turks, who had defeated the Byzantine Empire
to gain control of the Middle East and Persia. The first wave of raids, led by
Mahmud of Ghazni ‘The Sword of Islam’, was relentless and bloody and pushed as
far east as the Punjab and Gujarat. However it wasn’t until 1191 that another
wave of attacks, this time led by Muhammed of Ghur, culminated in the defeat of
King Prithviraj III, the most famous of the Rajput Kings, and the fall of Delhi.
Soon after Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, and Assam all fell to the flag of Isalm.
The founding of the Delhi Sultanate marked the start of a succession of mixed
Turkish and Afghan dynasties, which lasted for over 300 years. Islam spread throughout
India during this period and with it the Persian language, arts and architecture.
At its height, under Muhammed Tughluq, the hand of Islam covered all of north
and central India, and stretched deep into the south as well.
In 1398 the last Tughluq Sultan was defeated and Delhi savagely destroyed by
the Murauding armies of Tamerlane (Timur the Lame). So complete was the destruction
that the city remained uninhabited for almost 100 years. Following the destruction
of Delhi, and throughout the 15 th century, independent sultanates emerged in western and central India, and new
Rajput kingdoms emerged around Jodhpur and Udaipur. The remnants of the Delhi
Sultanate were controlled firstly be the Sayyid dynasty and later by the Afghan
Lodhi dynasty who were most responsible for restoring it to something like its
former power.
Due largely to its lack of religious tolerance, the spread of Islam across India
sounded the death knell for Buddhism, which almost completely disappeared. However,
a number of Hindu kingdoms resisted the onslaught, particularly in the south and
west of the country, including the Rajputs of the western deserts and the wonderful
kingdom of Vijayanagar in the south. Although some merging of the two religions
did occur, particularly with the teachings of Kabir (1440-1518) and Guru Nanak
(1469-1538), founder of Sikhism, their deep-rooted differences (One God, instead
of many) prevented them merging.
In 1525 the Afghan warlord Babur invaded India and founded the glorious Mughal
Empire. It is during this period that many of India’s most famous monuments were
built, including the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and the Red Fort at Agra. Along
with this stunning architecture, the language, food, customs and dress of the
Mughal period have all left an indelible mark on modern-day India.
After victory over Ibrahim, the last Lodhi king, Babur took control of Delhi
and soon pushed on to Agra where he defeated a mighty Rajput army and effectively
took control of Northern India. Shortly after this in 1530, he died and was succeeded
by his son eldest Humayun. Humayun quickly expanded the empire into Malwa and
Gujarat; however his mercurial character and love of self-indulgence stopped any
further expansion. Meanwhile, another Afghan leader, Sher Khan, was consolidating
power in the east, and instead of moving to quash the threat Humayun indulged
himself in Agra until it was too late. Taking first Bengal, Sher Khan finally
defeated Humayun and forced him into exile in Persia. Sher Khan changed his name
to Sher Shah, moved the capital back to Delhi and set about carving out an empire.
Unfortunately in 1545 Sher Shah was killed during a campaign into Rajasthan and
with his death the empire fell apart leaving the way open for the return of Humayun.
With the aid of the Persians, Humayun retook Kandahar and Kabul (in modern-day
Afghanistan) and soon pushed east back into India, taking both Delhi and Agra
and thus re-establishing the Mughal Empire. Within six months of his return to
India Humayun died as a result of a fall down a set of stairs, and the throne
passed onto his brilliant young son Akbar. During his long reign Akbar expanded
the Mughal Empire to cover almost all of northern India and had even started to
push into the Deccan in southern India. The only real resistance was from the
Rajputs, and in particular Udai Singh, who refused to recognise the authority
of Akbar. Eventually through a series of marriages and agreement he managed to
subdue them, though Udai Singh remained a problem from his new stronghold at Udaipur.
The martial skill, intelligence and foresight of Akbar led to a flourishing of
the Mughal Empire and a greater integration between Hindus and Muslims than had
be seen before. He abolished the punitive taxes against the Hindus and encouraged
all religions equally. He re-organised and refined the government system, introduced
Persian culture in the form of architecture, literature, the arts and language
(including Urdu, a blend of Hindi and Persian), and constructed many classic monuments,
the most fantastic being his imperial city of Fatehpur Sikri.
During the 17 th century the Mughal dynasty reached its pinnacle and under Akbar’s son, Jahangir,
the last Rajput stronghold at Udaipur was finally subdued and in 1616 the Deccan
kingdom of Ahmednagar also fell to the Mughals. An increasingly heavy drinker
and opium user, Jahangir slowly passed power to his beautiful and clever wife
Nur Jahan who exercised increasing power over government of the empire. This inevitably
led to great intrigue and often open rebellion in the latter years of his reign.
Both had a great love of the arts and under their patronage it reached grand new
height. After his death in 1627, Nur Shar erected the striking sandstone mausoleum
near Agra in his memory.
Jahangir was succeeded by his son Shah Jahan who was a much greater man and expanded
the empire further south into the Deccan until virtually the whole Indian sub-continent
was under the control of the Mughal Empire. Perhaps his greatest achievement was
the building of the Taj Mahal. This awe-inspiring monument was built as a tomb
for his beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1630. So devoted to his wife
was he that it is reported he was inconsolable after her death and stayed in a
state of mourning for two years. The stunning white marble mausoleum, which sits
on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra, took almost 22 years to complete and
required the efforts of some 20,000 workmen from various countries around the
world. Eventually tiring of Agra, Shah Jahan moved the capital back to Delhi where
he eventually took ill and was rumoured to be dead.
The failing health of Shah Jahan led to a bitter struggle between his four sons,
of whom Aurangzeb finally emerged victorious. In the process he ruthlessly executed
or exiled his brothers and, finally recovered from his illness, had his father
imprisoned in his palace in Agra. In 1658 Aurangzeb took the throne and continued
to expand the empire south until he eventually conquered or subdued the rest of
the Deccan. A strict Muslim, he reintroduced punitive taxes and religious restrictions
against the Hindus and executed Sikh leaders, all of which led to a number of
popular uprisings. He also managed to provoke the Rajputs into war and throughout
the latter part of his reign was plagued by unrest (particularly the Marathas
of the Western Ghats) throughout the country. Although he managed to retain control
until his death in 1707, he was an increasingly unpopular figure. His son Bahadur
Shah managed to briefly stop the rot by patching up relations with the Rajputs
and cunningly triggering civil war amongst the Marathas, but already 63 when he
took the throne, he did not live long enough to completely stop the collapse of
the Mughal Empire.
The decline of the Mughal Empire led once again to the break up of India. The
Marathas increased their raiding and pushed right up to the edge of Delhi, effectively
controlling most of central India and splitting the old empire in two. Bengal
was taken over by a former Mughal noble, Murshid Quli Khan (r.1703-27), and the
former Mughal chief minister Nziam-ul-Mulk (r.1724-48) created a southern state
around Hyderabad. The bloody sacking of Delhi in 1738 by the Persian ruler Nadir
Shah and again in 1761 by the Afghan ruler Ahmed Shah finally removed the last
remnants of Mughal power. Even the Marathas, called to aid by the failing Mughals,
were unable to stop Ahmed Shah, and so devastating was their defeat that as many
as 75,000 were slaughtered. Unable to take advantage of his victory, due to the
mutiny of his army, Ahmed Shah was forced to retreat back to Afghanistan. The
resulting power vacuum in the Punjab allowed the long persecuted Sikhs to carve
out a powerful kingdom that eventually spread into Kashmir and Afghanistan.
European interest in the Indian sub-continent had started as early as 1509 with
the establishment of a trading centre in Goa by the Portuguese. The Dutch and
French followed, and during the 17 th century the British East India Company (BEIC) established three trading posts
at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. Trade centred mainly on silks and spices, which
were highly prized in Europe, and increasingly in demand. However it was not until
the decline of the Mughal Empire that European powers, and in particular the British,
moved to take a more direct interest in Indian affairs. In 1748, sparked by increased
competition with the French and their attempts to directly control local politics,
war broke out between the French and British. After a prolonged and messy struggle
the British finally emerged victorious, thus opening the door to British expansion
in India.
This expansion came mostly as a result of the sacking of Calcutta in 1956 by
the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula. It is during this time that the infamous
incident of the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ arose, in which as many as 200 (though
probably only 60!) British prisoners were forced into a 14 by 18 foot cell and
left overnight, by morning only 21 had survived. The British, under the leadership
of the brilliant Robert Clive, retook Calcutta in 1957 and, against orders, Clive
pushed on to take the whole of Bengal, which became a British client state with
a puppet ruler. In 1774 Warren Hastings was appointed governor-general of the
BEIC’s Indian territories and soon set about expanding British control in southern
India. Military campaigns ensued against the revitalised Marathas, Hyderabad,
and most significantly the newly emerging kingdom of Mysore, which after a number
of bloody engagements finally surrendered in 1799.
The appointment of Lord Cornwallis as governor-general in 1786 marked the start
of more direct BEIC rule. Taxes were levied and the beginnings of a civil service
introduced, in which all the highest posts were held by Europeans. Expansion continued
and by 1820 Hyderabad, the Marathas, and Rajasthan had all succumbed to British
rule. After a series of fierce and bloody wars with the Sikhs for control of the
Punjab and Kashmir, in which the British eventually emerged victorious, by 1857
almost the entire Indian sub-continent was under the BEIC domination.
During this period the British set about modernising India, which at the time
was largely poverty stricken and fragmented following the decline of the Mughals.
English was introduced as the national language and a policy of western education
was followed, including primary schools, high schools, colleges and universities,
and the abolition of Hindu customs like sati – the ritual immolation of a widow. A National infrastructure was created with
roads, bridges and railways, hydroelectric power schemes and irrigation systems.
However, this phenomenal speed of change experienced by ordinary Indians, and
a growing sense of alienation from their own culture led to disastrous consequences
in 1957.
A great deal of tension had already built up within the sepoys (the name given to Indian soldiers in the British army), who at the time numbered
some 200,000 compared to only about 10,000 British officers and men, and rebellion
was finally sparked of by a rumour that the British had started greasing new Lee-Enfield
bullets with a mixture of cow and pig fat The Lee-Enfield cartridge required breaking
off using the teeth before it could be loaded and, with the cow being sacred into
Hindus and the pig being unclean to Muslims, this was enough to push the already
unhappy Bengali sepoys into open mutiny. The rebellion spread rapidly throughout the north of India
as city after city fell to the rebels, each accompanied by a widespread slaughter
of Europeans. Luckily, enough sepoys stayed loyal to the British, particularly in the south, to enable the rebellion
to be contained to the north and relatively quickly put down, such that by 1858
control of India was back in British hands.
The whole episode served as a wake-up call to the British, who immediately made
sweeping changes to tighten their grip on power and to ensure that rebellion would
never happen again. The BEIC was disbanded and control of India transferred directly
to the Crown. The army was restructured to ensure that Indian troops never out
numbered European troops by more than two to one. Moves to modernise and westernise
Indian society were shelved and there was no more interference with Indian culture
and religion. The full British legal system was introduced and the ICS (Indian
Civil Service) was established in 1861. Both adopted a tacit policy of ‘whites
only’ for the highest positions, maintaining that native Indians were untrustworthy
and corrupt. The states and rulers that stayed loyal to the British were rewarded
with treaties effectively creating semi-independent, self-governing kingdoms ruled
by local ‘Maharajas’, but loyal to the Crown.
Indian infrastructure was also massively expanded with the building of thousands
of miles of roads and railways, and then used to plunder India’s wealth of natural
resources – raw cotton, wheat, jute, tea, and coffee - for export to the west.
However, throughout the later half of the 19 th century the British developed a feeling of detachment from, and deep distrust
of, the local population. They built districts in the centre of cities called
cantonments where they could live in luxurious surrounding, cut-off from the local population.
They opened social clubs like the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and the Bombay Gymkhana
Club for their exclusive use only, and retired to hill stations during the hot
summer months all in an effort to remain distant from the native population.
The rapid scientific and technological advances introduced by the British, coupled
with a reawakening of Indian culture and religion, led inevitably to a growth
in nationalism, and in 1885 the Indian National Congress was formed. Formed by
Surendranath Banerjee (1848-1926) and group of highly educated and wealthy Indians,
the National Congress originally wanted reform not independence. This changed
after the 1905 partition of Bengal by Lord Cuzron (1899-1905), the then Viceroy.
He split the state into two halves, one for Muslims and one for Hindus, in an
attempt to make it more easily governed. The widespread discontent at this policy
led to protests and boycotts, which were at first violently put down by the British,
but by 1911 led to the revoking of the Bengal partition. These events also saw
a shift in the Indian National Congress who changed its demands for reform to
demands for self-government.
Also during this period a new nationalist movement emerged, the Muslim League.
It was formed to represent India’s Muslim minority and rapidly gained political
recognition and enjoyed a number of concessions granted by the British during
the 1909 reforms. In 1916 the Indian National Congress formerly recognised the
Muslim League in the Lucknow Pact and agreed to work together in the pursuit of
Indian self-government.
The outbreak of the First World War crystallised Indian realisation that the
British were no longer the all-conquering superpower they had once been. Their
contribution to the war (more than 1.2 million fought in the war and 60,000 were
killed) and the overthrow of the Chinese and Ottoman Empires, and Imperial Russia
gave rise to great expectation that the end of the war would signal long awaited
freedom for India. Unfortunately this was not the case and the British, if anything,
tightened their grip on India leading to the 1919 massacre at Amritsar, in which
400 protesters where killed by British soldiers. Such was the shock at this barbaric
act that all thoughts of reform were abandoned and a united campaign for self-government
was started in earnest, led by the emerging Mohindas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948).
Gandhi, a lawyer by profession, transformed the Congress and under his leadership
took the campaign to the people. His strategy was one of mass civil disobedience
and non-violent demonstration, and he launched three great campaigns in 1920,
1930 and culminating in the 1942 ‘Quit India’ campaign. Each campaign brought
concessions from the British who eventually realised that they could no longer
hold on to India in the face of such organised and mass opposition. In 1929 Jawaharal
Nerhu (1989-1964) took over leadership of the Congress from Gandhi. Their only
serious rival for control of the country was the Muslim League, led by Mohammed
Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) who was campaigning for a separate Muslim country using
Muslim fears of being governed by a Hindu majority. After the 1935 elections,
in which the Congress swept to power, the Muslim League offered to form a coalition
with the Congress but this was rejected out of hand. The outbreak of the Second
World War temporarily delayed India’s road to freedom.
Following the end of the Second World War Indian independence was a forgone conclusion,
it was just a question of when and how. The congress and the British both wanted
to keep the country whole but political deadlock with the Muslim League, and the
outbreak of rioting and killing between Muslims and Hindus, eventually persuaded
Congress to accept Indian partition. India would be divided into Pakistan, consisting
of the Punjab in the west and the enclave of Bengal in the east, and the rest
would remain India. Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, hastily set the
date of partition for the 14 th August 1947 and India prepared for Independence.
Initial celebrations and rejoicing soon turned to anarchy and bloodshed. Muslims
migrating west across the Punjab trying to reach Pakistan were set upon by Hindus
and massacred. The same was happening to Hindus trying to leave Pakistan for India
and although actual numbers are unknown at least half a million died in this senseless
orgy of violence. Gandhi was so horrified by these events that he took up residence
in one of the Muslim refugee camps in Delhi and refused to eat until all violence
stopped. His calming influence ensured that the partition of Bengal was a relatively
peaceful one, unlike the Punjab, though not with out its cost. On the 30 th January 1948 a Hindu extremist, enraged at his support of the Muslims, assassinated
Gandhi at close range with a pistol. In his address to the Nation Nehru said of
Gandhi’s death ‘The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere’.
Although never officially elected Nehru assumed the position of India’s first
prime minister and led the country into its first general election in 1952. In
the years preceding this he had to deal with a number of difficult issues, including
brokering deals with the 550 independent states (left over from the British) ruled
by the Maharajas. In most instances this was achieved without violence and the
Maharaja retained many financial and social privileges as a result. However, troops
were required to convince the large Muslim dominated state of Hyderabad to join
the rest of India. Also the attempted invasion of the independent state of Kashmir,
where there was a Muslim majority ruled by a Hindu minority, by the Pakistanis
required military intervention.
On the 26 th January 1950 India was declared a republic and adopted a new constitution based
on the British parliamentary system. The 1952 general election resulted in a landslide
for the Indian National Congress Party and under Nehru’s guidance India became
an entirely democratic, secular state adopting a uniquely mixed socialist/capitalist
policy. Nehru went on to be re-elected in 1957 and 1962 and during this period
made great inroads into modernising India both socially and economically. His
three 5-year plans for economic development, starting in 1951, meant that by 1966
India was ranked as one of the world’s top ten most industrialised Nations. Massive
irrigation programmes increased food production making India nearly self-sufficient.
Power production doubled due to enormous hydroelectric schemes and coal and iron
production also grew by huge amounts.
Social reforms took place as well, and most significantly the role of women in
Indian society was established when in 1955 and 56 a number of Acts secured equal
rights for all Indians. 1956 also saw the re-organisation of Indian states - based
on common language groups – to their present-day boundaries. This was strongly
opposed by Nehru, who wanted English to remain the unifying language, but shortly
after his death Hindi was made the official language of India.
Perhaps the major shortcomings of Nehru’s policies were in the massive increase
in population that ‘swallowed up’ all the economic advances and saw India remain
firmly in the bracket of the world’s very poorest nations. Also the country’s
massive illiteracy rate was barely reduced, and in fact by 1979 it still remained
at almost 70%. A brief and humiliating border war with the Chinese in 1962 also
showed a certain naivety in Indian foreign policy
Elsewhere on the world stage India gained much credibility by remaining non-aligned
to the major superpower struggle of the time between the USA and Russia. Its founding
of the ‘non-aligned’ movement, which acted so well as a calming instrument between
East and West, gained it much respect worldwide.
Nehru’s death on the 27 th May 1964 marked the end of an era in modern Indian history, and he was succeeded
briefly by Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-66). In 1965 another short conflict with
Pakistan over Kashmir was quickly and efficiently dealt with by Shastri and greatly
boosted his lagging popularity. His untimely death from a heart attack in 1966
left the way open for Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, who had quietly moved up
through the ranks of the Congress Party.
Initially regarded as a weak leader, Mrs Gandhi was meant to be a ‘temporary
solution’, but after the 1967 general elections in which the Congress won an overall
majority, though much reduced from the previous election, she proved anything
but weak taking control of the party and country. Sweeping reforms aimed at appealing
to the masses and an early general election in 1970 saw Mrs Gandhi re-elected
with a massive majority.
Here first major test came in 1971 when increased unrest in East Pakistan led
to civil war. Frightened at the possibility of East Pakistan gaining self dependence,
West Pakistan poured troops into the region and ruthlessly put down the unrest.
Universally condemned by the rest of the world for its acts of massacre, rape
and murder, Pakistan finally pushed India too far by attacking several of its
airbases. Forced into war India acted swiftly and decisively by first securing
its border with West Pakistan and then pouring troops into East Pakistan. In less
than 2 weeks forces in East Pakistan had surrendered and shortly after the war
ended. Showing great restraint Mrs Gandhi did not push into West Pakistan and
rapidly withdrew troops from East Pakistan allowing the creation of the new state
of Bangladesh.
However from here things went downhill. Rising prices, a stagnant economy, and
unworkable and unpopular policies - including the removal of the special status
of the Maharajas, which was enshrined in the constitution - all led to a deep
discontent with Mrs Gandhi and her government. All the opposition parties joined
together to form The Janata Morcha (People’s Front) and set about bringing Mrs
Gandhi’s government down. Embattled and under attack from all sides, including
being found guilty of electoral irregularities during the previous election, Mrs
Gandhi had the president declare a state of emergency, thus suspending all civil
rights and placing the whole country under direct rule from Delhi. The forthcoming
general election in 1976 was postponed, all the opposition leaders were arrested,
and a raft of new policies introduced.
Somewhat surprisingly these seemingly extreme measures actually worked and inflation
fell, output and exports increased and bureaucracy became more efficient. By the
start of 1977 Mrs Gandhi ended the state of emergency and set the general election
for just three months later. Her plan was not to allow the opposition Janata enough
time to mount an effective campaign. Unfortunately they did and swept to a decisive
victory taking 270 of the 493 seats contested.
The Janata government, where unified in opposition were anything but in power.
After just three years of infighting, scandals, changing alliances, and corruption
the Janata government collapsed, and victory in the 1980 general election returned
Mrs Gandhi to office for a third term.
In the early 80s a rise in Sikh activism in the Punjab, in the shape of The Akali
Dal independence movement, led to an increased demand for a self-governing Sikh
homeland. Gandhi and her government, determined to counter this rising threat,
put their support behind a young Sikh fundamentalist, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwhale,
and turned a blind eye to his bloody terrorist activities. However, they underestimated
him, and in 1983 he set up his headquarters in the Golden Temple at Amritsar,
the Sikh’s holiest site. After a lengthy standoff the Indian army was forced to
take the temple by force in 1984, killing 1,000 rebels in the process. This caused
such shock and outrage amongst Sikhs that by the end of the year Mrs Gandhi was
dead, assassinated by two of her closest bodyguards, both Sikhs.
Rajiv, Mrs Gandhi’s son, took over as prime minister and the rest of the 80s
was marked by ineffectual government policies and a slow tide of dissatisfaction
with government and politics in general. The 1989 general election saw the National
Congress unable to form a majority and it was replaced by the Janata Dal coalition.
During the 1991 general election Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by Sri Lankan
Tamil Tigers and the following years saw a steady decline in support for the National
Congress coupled with a rise in Hindu Nationalism, centred on the Bhrata Janata
party. Although India has made great advances in industry, economy and technology
(nuclear, space and computer), its politics throughout the 1990s has been dogged
by weak coalition governments, widespread political corruption and a fundamental
lack of effective policies to counter India’s massively increasing population,
poor education, and endemic poverty.
The new millennium holds enormous potential for India to readdress these major
shortcomings and only time will tell if she is equal to the task.
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