India After Independence, India Under Nehru

The constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, a date celebrated annually as
Republic Day. The constitution provided for a federal union of states and a parliamentary system,
and included a list of fundamental rights guaranteeing freedom of the press and association.

Under Nehrus leadership, the government attempted to develop India quickly by embarking on
agrarian reform and rapid industrialization. A successful land reform was introduced that
abolished giant landholdings, but efforts to redistribute land by placing limits on landownership
failed. Attempts to introduce large-scale cooperative farming were frustrated by landowning rural
elites, whoas staunch Congress Party supportershad considerable political weight.
Agricultural production expanded until the early 1960s, as additional land was brought under
cultivation and some irrigation projects began to have an effect. The establishment of
agricultural universities, modeled after land-grant colleges in the United States, also helped.
These universities worked with high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, initially developed in
Mexico and the Philippines, that in the 1960s began the Green Revolution, an effort to diversify
and increase crop production. At the same time a series of failed monsoons brought India to the
brink of famine, prevented only by food grain aid from the United States.

The planning commission of the central government inaugurated a series of five-year plans in
1952 that emphasized the building of basic industries such as steel, heavy machine tools, and
heavy electrical machinery (such as power plant turbines) rather than automobiles and other
consumer goods. New investment in those industries, as well as investment in infrastructure,
especially railroads, communications, and power generation, was reserved for the public sector.
Most other economic activity was in private hands, but entrepreneurs were subject to a complex
set of licenses, regulations, and controls. These were designed to ensure a fair allotment of
scarce resources and protect workers rights, but in practice they hampered investment and
management. The central government controlled foreign trade stringently. Substantial progress
was made toward the goal of industrial self-reliance and growth in manufacturing during the
1950s and early 1960s.

Indias large diversity of languages contributed to internal political problems during the 1950s
and early 1960s. Although Gandhi had reorganized the Congress movement in 1920 to reflect
linguistic divisions, and although the nationalist movement had always promised a reorganization
of provincial boundaries once independence was achieved, Nehru resisted a demand to bring
together the Telugu-speaking areas of the former British province of Madras and Hyderabad
state. He yielded only when the leader of the movement fasted to death, and severe riots broke
out. A States Reorganization Commission was appointed, and in 1956 the interior boundaries of
India were redrawn along linguistic lines. In 1960 much of the land making up Bombay state was
divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat states, with the remainder going to Karnataka state. In
1966 most of Punjab was split into the states of Punjab and Haryana after significant public
protest. Aside from some minor border disputes, and with additional states formed mainly in
northeast India, the reorganization generally strengthened Indias unity.

The thorny problem of a national language for the country remained. The constitution specified
that Hindi, spoken in many dialects by 40 percent of Indians, would become the official language
in 1965, after a transition in which English, spoken by the educated elite of the country, would
serve. Non-Hindi speakers, especially in the south Indian state of Madras (later renamed Tamil
Nadu), mobilized against central government efforts to impose Hindi. To settle the dispute, the
government allowed continued use of English for states that wished to keep it.

During its first years as a republic India figured increasingly in international affairs, especially in
deliberations and activities of the UN. Nehru became world famous as the leading spokesman for
nonalignment, the idea that other countries should refuse to take sides in a mounting ideological
and political struggle between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United
States known as the Cold War. Indian determination to avoid entanglement with either of these
powers became increasingly apparent after the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-1953).
Although the Indian government approved the UN Security Council resolution invoking military
sanctions against North Korea, no Indian troops were committed to the cause, and Nehru
dispatched notes on the situation to the United States and the Soviet Union, repeatedly trying to
restore peace in Korea. In its initial attempts at mediation the Indian government suggested that
admitting China to the UN was a prerequisite to a solution of the Korean crisis. Even after China
intervened in the Korean Warand despite Indias differences with China over Tibet, which China
had invaded in 1950India adhered to this view. However, it was rejected by a majority of the
UN Security Council.

Nehru was unable to resolve the hostility with Pakistan, rooted in the Indian nationalists
opposition to the creation of Pakistan and in the terrible bloodshed that accompanied the
partition of the two countries at independence. The division of Kashmir along the 1949 cease-fire
line left each country claiming important territory held by the other. Diplomatic efforts at the UN
and at bilateral meetings between Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan,
proved unsuccessful. Although India had agreed to hold a plebiscite in the region, it claimed that
the plebiscite was dependent on the withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Kashmir, and that the
vote of the Kashmir legislature in the mid-1950s to integrate fully into India made a plebiscite
unnecessary. Pakistan claimed that a mutual withdrawal of forces was necessary, and that one
party to an agreement cannot unilaterally change it.

In the late 1950s India began to conflict with China over the ownership of some largely
uninhabited land along Indias northeastern border in Arunachal Pradesh and in the hill areas of
northeastern Jammu and Kashmir. Until that time Indias relations with China had been generally
amiable, and Nehru believed that the territorial dispute could be solved through friendly
negotiations. The difficulty of mapping the area accurately, and the conflicts between the
security interests of the two countries, however, proved to be thornier problems than Nehru had
anticipated. By 1959 the dispute had begun heating up, and popular pressure not to yield
territory to China grew. Nehrus government sent military patrols into the disputed territory.

Chinas answer was to attack in both disputed areas in October 1962, quickly routing an illprepared Indian army, and threatening to move virtually unopposed to the plains of Assam. In
desperation, India sought Western and military aid, especially from the United States, which the
administration of President John F. Kennedy willingly provided. The fighting ended when China
unilaterally announced a cease-fire in late November, continuing to occupy some of the
territories it had invaded. The crisis precipitated a drastic overhaul of Indian defenses, including
massive arms procurement and the modernization of its armed forces. Also, Defense Minister V.
K. Krishna Menon, a powerful neutralist, was ousted from the government at the end of October.
This in turn alarmed Pakistan, concerned that its small size and small economic capacity
compared with India would condemn it to a permanent position of inferiority on the subcontinent.

Nehru died in May 1964. He was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was seen both at home
and abroad as a weak successor. Unrest in Kashmir combined with Pakistans belief in Indias
weakness, resulted in a short war between the two countries in September 1965. The Soviet
Union brokered a cease-fire, and literally hours after it was signed in January 1966, Shastri died
in Toshkent, Uzbekistan.

The demand by Bengal's Hindus for a province inside India in which they would be the majority
was intended to lead them securely through the upheavals of partition to a prosperous future.
The borders of the province were designed to give it a population upon whose support the
leadership could depend. Smaller and poorer after its vivisection, West Bengal, they believed,
would become a stable and cohesive polity, part of a larger union in which its special relationship
with the centre would compensate for the losses that partition entailed.

After Congress took office in the new state in August 1947, it soon became clear that these plans
were going badly wrong. Partition transformed Bengal's political landscape. Having lost twothirds of its territory to Pakistan, West Bengal was left with only 89 of the 250 constituencies in
the Assembly of undivided Bengal. This upset all the old balances and changed the standing of
every political party in the new state, often in quite unintended ways. In general, partition tended
to strengthen those factions and groups which had been active in the territory which now
constituted West Bengal, whereas those with bases mainly in eastern Bengal, not surprisingly,
became weaker. Cast adrift from their local moorings, parties once influential in the east had to
regroRural development has acquired special significance in the countries of the Third World.
Since independence the Government of India has launched various programmes of planned
change encompassing social, economic and political processes. There are two approaches
adopted by the government with regard to the patterns of development. These approaches are
(a) the transformation approach and (b) the improvement approach.
The Transformation Approach:

The transformation approach attaches importance to a radical change in the existing system in
terms of scale of operation, production techniques, and socio-legal reforms. Implementation of
land reform measures comes within the purview of this approach. So far as the land reform
measures are concerned, a large number of tenants or farmers have now become the owners of
the land that they are cultivating.

The slogan land to the tiller has been successfully translated into reality in most of the States
of India. The tenancy rights are more secure now. The Zamindari abolition laws have succeeded
in eliminating the intermediaries.

Tenancy legislations have been passed in most of the states to regulate rent and also to make
the rent fair and reasonable. Eviction of the tenants from the land which they have been
cultivating becomes an uphill task now.

Most of the states have enacted ceiling laws to fix the maximum amount of land that an
individual or family can possess. Needless to state that this is a step in the right direction of
achieving social justice. Attempts have been made for consolidation of holdings. So far 51.8
million hectares of land have been consolidated in the country.

The evil of absentee landlordism associated with the Indian agriculture has been removed. Cooperative farming has been advocated to solve the problems of sub-division and fragmentation
of holdings. Through the Bhoodan movement efforts are being made to provide the landless
labourers with land. Efforts are also being made for the compilation and updating of the land
records.
The Improvement Approach:

The improvement approach seeks to bring about agricultural development within the existing
peasant production system. It attaches importance to the programmes of rural development
such as the Community Development Programme, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other
programmes and agencies related to the process of development in rural India.

According to the Planning Commission, community development is the process of changing the
life of a community from backwardness to a new economic and social order through its open
efforts. The Community Development Programme undertaken by the government of free India on
2nd October 1952 the day of Gandhi Jayanti constitutes the biggest rural reconstruction
scheme.

The programme is instrumental in raising the standard of living of the ruralites and in
reconstructing the rural India. Prof. Carl Taylor rightly observes that the programme signifies
active co-operation and involvement of the ruralites in formulating and executing their own plans
and programmes.

The programme has attained considerable success in the field of agriculture, education,
employment, health services, communication, vocational training, supply of drinking water,
social welfare. With the passage of time the Community Development Programme has started
losing its importance. It has suffered from several draw backs.

Various factors such as lack of clearly defined priorities, cornering of the benefits by the rich and
big farmers, a dismal lack of coordination among different development departments, lack of
commitment, administrative inefficiency and corruption at the bureaucratic level etc. contribute
to the failure of the programme. Despite these shortcomings, the CDP has contributed a lot in
arousing the consciousness and awareness of the ruralites about the modern means of
agriculture.

The Community Development Programme was launched with a view to obtaining peoples
participation in the development process. But this objective of the CDP was not materialised. To
ensure the involvement of the people in the development of villages, the Government of India
appointed a committee headed by Balwant Rai Mehta in January 1957. Consequent upon the
recommendation of the committee, the Panchayati Raj through the organization of Gram
Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad received special attention of the committee.

Panchayati Raj has been viewed as an attempt to implement the process of democratic
decentralization. This has broken the long standing practice of centralised authority. The system
has made an average citizen more conscious of his rights than before. He has become a
significant determinant of Indian politics today.

So far as the administrative implication of the Panchayati Raj system is concerned, it has bridged
the gulf between the bureaucratic elite and the people. Socially the Panchayati Raj system has
generated a new leadership having a modern and pro-social outlook. Finally, viewed from the
developmental angle, the Panchayati Raj system has enabled the ruralites to cultivate a
progressive outlook.

Several reports have hinted at the lack of effectiveness of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. The
important reasons attributed to its ineffectiveness are the structural inadequacy of the
institutions, administrative inefficiency and corruption at the level of bureaucracy, absence of
conceptual clarity and lack of political will.

Despite these shortcomings, it cannot be gainsaid that the Panchayati Raj Institutions have
administered enormous economic funds and resources to accelerate the process of rural
development.

Green revolution denotes the well-marked improvement in the agricultural production in a short
period and the sustenance of a high level of agricultural production over a fairly long period of
time. But viewed from the angle of crops, green revolution has been confined largely to wheat.
Hence, it is often referred to as wheat revolution rather than green revolution. The success of
green revolution, for the most part, depends upon adequate irrigation facilities.

But in the Indian context, a large proportion of the agricultural land is without irrigation facilities.
This vast area naturally falls outside the orbit of green revolution. So far as the dry areas are
concerned, the applicability of the new agricultural strategy is simply out of question.
Furthermore, the adoption of new technology is confined only to some developed areas like
Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.

The states of the Eastern region covering West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa have not been
benefitted by such HYV technology. The other parts of the country have remained untouched by
the new agricultural strategy. Some important commercial crops like sugarcane, oil seeds and
pulses have not been covered by the new technology. Only the large farmers and landlords have
been immensely benefitted by adopting green revolution.

There is hardly any appreciable development in the economic condition of the small and
marginal farmers as they have no capacity to adopt NAT. Despite these limitations, it cannot be
gainsaid that green revolution has brought in its wake some beneficial effects for the Indian
agricultural setting.

Increase in agricultural production, decline in import of food-grains generation of more

employment opportunities in the agricultural and non-agricultural sector, expansion of agrobased industries, increased standard of living of the farmers constitute the positive aspects of
green revolution. Several poverty alleviation programmes have been launched by the central
government for the rural poor, comprising small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and
rural artisans. They are as follows:upnd find a role for themselves in the west.
Rural development after independence;
Rural development has acquired special significance in the countries of the Third World. Since
independence the Government of India has launched various programmes of planned change
encompassing social, economic and political processes. There are two approaches adopted by
the government with regard to the patterns of development. These approaches are (a) the
transformation approach and (b) the improvement approach.
The Transformation Approach:

The transformation approach attaches importance to a radical change in the existing system in
terms of scale of operation, production techniques, and socio-legal reforms. Implementation of
land reform measures comes within the purview of this approach. So far as the land reform
measures are concerned, a large number of tenants or farmers have now become the owners of
the land that they are cultivating.

The slogan land to the tiller has been successfully translated into reality in most of the States
of India. The tenancy rights are more secure now. The Zamindari abolition laws have succeeded
in eliminating the intermediaries.

Tenancy legislations have been passed in most of the states to regulate rent and also to make
the rent fair and reasonable. Eviction of the tenants from the land which they have been
cultivating becomes an uphill task now.

Most of the states have enacted ceiling laws to fix the maximum amount of land that an
individual or family can possess. Needless to state that this is a step in the right direction of
achieving social justice. Attempts have been made for consolidation of holdings. So far 51.8
million hectares of land have been consolidated in the country.

The evil of absentee landlordism associated with the Indian agriculture has been removed. Cooperative farming has been advocated to solve the problems of sub-division and fragmentation
of holdings. Through the Bhoodan movement efforts are being made to provide the landless
labourers with land. Efforts are also being made for the compilation and updating of the land
records.
The Improvement Approach:

The improvement approach seeks to bring about agricultural development within the existing
peasant production system. It attaches importance to the programmes of rural development
such as the Community Development Programme, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other
programmes and agencies related to the process of development in rural India.

According to the Planning Commission, community development is the process of changing the
life of a community from backwardness to a new economic and social order through its open
efforts. The Community Development Programme undertaken by the government of free India on
2nd October 1952 the day of Gandhi Jayanti constitutes the biggest rural reconstruction
scheme.

The programme is instrumental in raising the standard of living of the ruralites and in
reconstructing the rural India. Prof. Carl Taylor rightly observes that the programme signifies
active co-operation and involvement of the ruralites in formulating and executing their own plans
and programmes.

The programme has attained considerable success in the field of agriculture, education,
employment, health services, communication, vocational training, supply of drinking water,
social welfare. With the passage of time the Community Development Programme has started
losing its importance. It has suffered from several draw backs.

Various factors such as lack of clearly defined priorities, cornering of the benefits by the rich and
big farmers, a dismal lack of coordination among different development departments, lack of
commitment, administrative inefficiency and corruption at the bureaucratic level etc. contribute
to the failure of the programme. Despite these shortcomings, the CDP has contributed a lot in
arousing the consciousness and awareness of the ruralites about the modern means of
agriculture.

The Community Development Programme was launched with a view to obtaining peoples
participation in the development process. But this objective of the CDP was not materialised. To
ensure the involvement of the people in the development of villages, the Government of India
appointed a committee headed by Balwant Rai Mehta in January 1957. Consequent upon the
recommendation of the committee, the Panchayati Raj through the organization of Gram
Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad received special attention of the committee.

Panchayati Raj has been viewed as an attempt to implement the process of democratic
decentralization. This has broken the long standing practice of centralised authority. The system
has made an average citizen more conscious of his rights than before. He has become a
significant determinant of Indian politics today.

So far as the administrative implication of the Panchayati Raj system is concerned, it has bridged
the gulf between the bureaucratic elite and the people. Socially the Panchayati Raj system has
generated a new leadership having a modern and pro-social outlook. Finally, viewed from the
developmental angle, the Panchayati Raj system has enabled the ruralites to cultivate a
progressive outlook.

Several reports have hinted at the lack of effectiveness of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. The
important reasons attributed to its ineffectiveness are the structural inadequacy of the
institutions, administrative inefficiency and corruption at the level of bureaucracy, absence of
conceptual clarity and lack of political will.

Despite these shortcomings, it cannot be gainsaid that the Panchayati Raj Institutions have
administered enormous economic funds and resources to accelerate the process of rural
development.

Green revolution denotes the well-marked improvement in the agricultural production in a short
period and the sustenance of a high level of agricultural production over a fairly long period of
time. But viewed from the angle of crops, green revolution has been confined largely to wheat.
Hence, it is often referred to as wheat revolution rather than green revolution. The success of
green revolution, for the most part, depends upon adequate irrigation facilities.

But in the Indian context, a large proportion of the agricultural land is without irrigation facilities.
This vast area naturally falls outside the orbit of green revolution. So far as the dry areas are
concerned, the applicability of the new agricultural strategy is simply out of question.
Furthermore, the adoption of new technology is confined only to some developed areas like
Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.

The states of the Eastern region covering West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa have not been
benefitted by such HYV technology. The other parts of the country have remained untouched by
the new agricultural strategy. Some important commercial crops like sugarcane, oil seeds and
pulses have not been covered by the new technology. Only the large farmers and landlords have
been immensely benefitted by adopting green revolution.

There is hardly any appreciable development in the economic condition of the small and
marginal farmers as they have no capacity to adopt NAT. Despite these limitations, it cannot be
gainsaid that green revolution has brought in its wake some beneficial effects for the Indian
agricultural setting.

Increase in agricultural production, decline in import of food-grains generation of more

employment opportunities in the agricultural and non-agricultural sector, expansion of agrobased industries, increased standard of living of the farmers constitute the positive aspects of
green revolution. Several poverty alleviation programmes have been launched by the central
government for the rural poor, comprising small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and
rural artisans. They are as follows: