Independent India, 1947-2000

Wendy Singer’s book is a clear and concise look at post-independence India, addressing all the key themes of the period – industrial development versus the agrarian sector; religious conflict; the rise of political parties; caste tensions. All issues are discussed in a chronological framework, beginning with the making of the constitution in the first five years of independence, through to India’s role in the 1971 civil war in Pakistan, the two-year Emergency declared in 1975, the rise of the middle class in the 1980s, and economic and local government reforms in the 1990s. The Assessment section of the book draws the themes together and reflects on recent events – such as the testing of nuclear weapons.

Introduction

Chapter One — Implementing a Secular State

Concurrences — Partition and the Constituent Assembly

Partition: The Problem with Historiography

Partition and the Constitution

One Hundred Million Votes

Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform

Conclusion

Chapter Two — Consolidating the Nation

Kashmir and Hyderabad

The China War

Goa: The Last European Colony?

The Communist Party in Kerala and Regional Assertion

Conclusion

Chapter Three — Modernism, Government, and the Arts

Chandigarh and Modernism

Le Corbusier’s Influence on Indian Architecture

Founding Museums, Promoting the Arts

National Museums

Nationalist Literature in a Multi-Cultural Nation

Film

Conclusion

Chapter Four — Green and Other Revolutions

Green Revolution

Naxalbari Rebellion

Revolt in East Pakistan

Pakistan’s Internal Conflict

Total Revolution and JP

The Anti-Price Rise Movement

Towards Equality

Conclusion

Chapter Five — Democratic Watersheds

The Emergency

The Proclamation of Emergency

The 1977 Election

Backward Classes and the Janata Government

The BJP and the Mandir Issue

Conclusion: Mandal/Mandir and Changes in Governing

Chapter Six — Women, Men and the Challenges of the 1980s and 90s

The Shah Bano Controversy in Political Context

Responses to the Muslim Women’s Bill

Women and Parliamentary Politics

Panchayats and Reservations

Interpreting New Panchayats

Women in Politics: Growth of Regional Parties

Mayawati and Phoolan Devi, Leaders of Depressed Classes

Conclusion

Conclusion

Documents

Sources for Further Reading

References

Index

• Contains a Glossary of Terms, Chronology, and reader friendly features
• Primary sources are included in the book
• A colour plate section further illustrates the content

For the past twenty years, Wendy Singer has studied Indian politics, living in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh while conducting this research. She has written books and articles on a range of related topics, initially focusing on the 1930s and more recently turning to the post-independence period. Her books include Creating Histories: Oral Narratives and the Politics of History Making (1997)and A Constituency Suitable for Ladies and Other Social Histories of Indian Elections (2006).