A Political History of Independent India

Partha Chatterjee

Outlining the political history of independent India, Partha Chatterjee’s essay traces the
continuities and transformations, the political institutions, the formation of a new order, the
periods of transition between one regime and the other, the restoration of the Congress, and
further political developments shaping the notion and structure of State and politics in India.

After India’s independence in August 1947, the territories of the newly formed countries, India
and Pakistan, were primarily based on a principle of religious majorities, although several
exceptions were incorporated the territories were actually delineated by the Radcliffe
Commission in British India. As for the princely states, which regained complete sovereignty
after Indian independence, their rulers could either choose to join India or Pakistan, and for those
who joined India, they were asked to hand over to the Indian union, their matters of defense,
external affairs and communications. In order to consolidate the territory of the states into larger
administrative units, some of these were merged with larger provinces, while in others, the rulers
agreed to form union of states. With the making of the Indian constitution in 1950, all the
constituent assemblies of the Unions adopted the Constitution of India. Problems also existed
with the accession of the princely states as found in the case of Junagadh, where the ruler signed
up for Pakistan, or with the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who
did not initially agree to the rules of accession. It can then be said that there is nothing natural or
timeless about the territorial boundary of independent India, and it only reflects the transfer of
power from the colonial ruler to leaders of independent India and the rulers of the princely states.

The Constitution of the Indian republic which was framed in 1950 comprised of a sovereign
legislature elected by direct universal suffrage without communal representation, but with
reservation for marginalized castes and tribes, and a set of fundamental rights for all citizens of
the country. The system of governance was parliamentary in nature, with an independent
judiciary and a distribution of powers between the union and the states, with more emphasis on
centralization. The basic structure of governmental administration in independent India was
inherited from the colonial period, as also was the composition of civil and criminal law, and the
maintenance of a professional army under the control of the government of the country.

The initial organization of the country was founded on its division into four kinds of states
comprising of, 1) the provinces of former British India, such as Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Orissa,
Punjab, etc; 2) the integration of the princely states like Hyderabad and Mysore; 3) units formed
by the integration of the princely states, like Ajmer, Bhopal, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, etc; and
finally 4) the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This structure did not follow any coherent principle
and was a result of historical cumulation, and it was only after a massive popular agitation
leading to the development of the state of Andhra Pradesh, that the government decided to
reorganize the states according to the linguistic principle. Instead of the earlier four-tier structure
therefore, now there were only states and union territories.

With the Congress being in charge of running the government after Independence, the issues
concerning the relationship between the party and the government became important. Unlike the
situation before independence, when the party as such had a well-developed organizational
structure, with strong links between the local and the national level committees; with the setting
up of the central and the state government by the Congress, the issue that became significant was
the relation between the governmental wing and the party wing of the Congress. Nehru was of
the idea that the party’s role would be to guide the government in matters of general policy, but it
could not expect the government to wait for the party’s approval for every decision that it took.
With growing underlying political tensions between the government wing and the party wing,
Nehru resigned from the working committee of the party in 1951, but was again elected as the
president and continued to remain in that position till 1954, and by this time it was clear that the
role of the party was to represent the view of the government. In terms of the state government,
due to decades of organized political activity by the Congress in the nationalist movement, it was
this party which ruled over almost every state until 1967. Till then, the party system in India
could be understood as ‘one-party dominance’. Their rule in the states and provinces also helped
the party to raise their own party-funds for running the organization. They were also largely
represented at the parliament and the assembly seats across the country. Apart from their rule at
the central and state level, the Nehruvian period was also known for its emphasis on
development – in planning and guiding the growth of the economy and promoting the welfare of
the nation. The idea was to bring about rapid industrialization by setting up new public
enterprises through direct investments made by the state. It was believed that only through rapid
industrial growth could poverty be removed from the country. A Planning Commission was also
separately set up, so as to ensure the carrying out of the goals and strategies of the government.

A further feature of the Nehruvian era was the development of India’s foreign policy. With the
birth of the two rival military blocs as superpowers after the Second World War – the United
States and the Soviet Union, the Indian policy of non-alignment refused to align with either
military bloc and chose a path of state-sponsored development. However, with the border war
with China in 1962, the wisdom of Nehru’s foreign policy came under fire. Criticism of Nehru’s
leadership was voiced both within and outside the Congress. At this time, the most powerful
group that developed within the Congress was called the Syndicate, which comprised of
Kamaraj, Sanjiva Reddy, Nijalingappa, S. K. Patil and Atulya Ghosh. After Nehru’s death, it was
the Syndicate that secured the election by the parliamentary party of Lal Bahadur Shashtri as
Prime Minister, and after his death, they put up the name of Indira Gandhi for the same position.
However, by this time, some of the problems of rapid industrialization began to show through.
Being faced with an acute food crisis, the country had to import large quantities of foodgrains.
With the increased defence expenditure leading to a severe crisis of foreign exchange, there was
a large devaluation of the Indian rupee. Price of foodgrains went up, along with a decrease in
growth, leading to economic hardships that resulted in agitations around the country. This also
had its repercussions in the 1967 elections where the Congress failed to repeat its overwhelming
victory. This brought in a complete new situation in Indian politics, because of the need to deal
with the relation between a Congress government at the Centre and the non-Congress
government in several states. But even though the non-Congress governments formed in the
states were coalition of several parties, it did not lead to the development of an alternative
ideological or organizational formation. In fact, soon after their formation, the non-Congress
governments were faced with crises, thereby again throwing light on the centre-state question.
Post-1967 elections, one could also see a weakening of the internal strength of Congress. Indira
Gandhi as the Prime Minister had asserted a hold over a majority of Congress parliamentarians,
and her popularity was at its peak outside the party as well. The rift between her leadership and
that of the Syndicate, leading to the nomination of two separate names for the position of the
party president, revealed the split in the Congress. The rivalry between the Congress party and
Indira Gandhi led to her government being reduced to a minority, when a significant number of
Congress members of the Lok Sabha declared their opposition to the Prime Minister. In 1970,
she decided not to go further with her minority government and the Parliament was dissolved
mid-term for fresh elections.

For the 1971 elections, Indira Gandhi received support of the CPI, the DMK, the Akali Ddal and
the PSP. Her campaign was populist in nature, centering on the idea of removing poverty,
leading her to a massive victory. Her role in launching a war to liberate Bangladesh in 1971, by
signing a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union also boosted her image to a new level
altogether. But this new Congress was very different from the Congress in Nehru’s time. In the
Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, it was firmly established that the State was the
sole agent for improving the condition of the people and providing relief in times of adversity.
The State was responsible for performing the role of setting up institutions of education, health,
culture, sports or social welfare. While in the Nehruvian era, economic development led to a
division between the public undertakings and private capitalists, with a negligence for the
agricultural sector as well; the Congress under Indira Gandhi focused on increasing foodgrain
production by addressing the issues of irrigation water, seeds and fertilizers – known as the
‘green revolution’. Moreover, the wish to work out a political consensus under the aegis of the
Congress like during the nationalist movement was no longer the situation in Independent India,
where many of the leaders of the opposition were in fact former members of the Congress. Since
the split in the Congress, the party became an organization that derived its identity from its
leader, with power flowing directly from the centre. Under this government, it was the central
executive structures of the government that played a pivotal role. Moreover, the welfare
packages were targeted towards specific groups of the population – minorities, workers, women,
etc, delivered in a manner that produced the impression that they were gifts of the central
leadership. The restored Congress-I under the leadership of Indira Gandhi also worked towards
the reorganization of the north-eastern region, the region being administratively organized within
the state of Assam, with Manipur and Tripura initially being recognized as union territories. For
managing the hill regions with tribal population, autonomous district councils were set up, which
were met with resistance, leading to insurgency and the constant presence of the army. Finally,
political settlement was reached by granting statehood to Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, and
making Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram union territories.

However, irrespective of the victory of the Congress-I, the political situation was not peaceful.
Failure of the industrial economy to revive itself led to huge price rises, resulting in country-wide
agitations. One the one side, there were agitations led by the communists in industrialized states,
and on the other, there was unrest among peasants as well in many parts of the country, where
feudal-style oppression still remained, leading to organized resistance by the poor peasants and
agricultural labourers. One such movement which started in a place called Naxalbari in West
Bengal came into prominence in 1967. Naxalite peasant movements spread in West Bengal,
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Punjab, and were suppressed by the deployment of massive
armed forces. Anti-government movements aimed towards corruption also became popular. As a
development of the police and the paramilitary forces, it was around this time that the Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), and the Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW) were formed by the government. In 1975, finding her guilty of electoral
malpractices, the Allahabad High Court delivered the judgment against Indira Gandhi, setting
aside her elections. It was on that night that a state of emergency was declared in India.

In the period of emergency, thousands of opposition leaders and activists from all over the
country were arrested. Twenty-six political organizations from both left as well as right were
banned. Censorship was imposed on the press and the fundamental right of equality before the
law (Article 14), the right to life and liberty (Article 21) and protection against arbitrary arrest
(Article 22) were suspended. All states were either under the rule of the Congress or under
President’s rule. The government announced programmes for implementing land reforms,
abolition of bonded labour, participation of workers in industries and special benefits to the
landless and weaker sections, among others. Cities were cleaned up by forcibly removing slums
and pavement shops, and family planning was carried out by forcible sterilization. The
emergency regime had given the government and the Congress politicians unrestrained power,
which was often used in a violent manner. With little visible opposition to the Emergency
regime, it was with the announcement of the parliamentary elections in 1977 that four opposition
parties merged to form the Janata Dal. The Janata Party won with absolute majority and it was
the first time that a coalition government was set up at the Centre, with Morarji Desai as the
Prime Minister.

This new government first and foremost dismantled the emergency regime and annulled the
coercive laws that were enacted. At the state level, the incumbent Congress governments were
dismissed. The Janata government aimed to bring about development by focusing more on rural
areas and giving incentives to farmers and small manufacturers. However, soon after coming to
power the government fell into a crisis because of internal disagreements. It was clear that even
though the different parties had merged into a single organization, they had retained their
separate identities. Rifts between the different parties within the Janata party widened due to the
expulsion, suspension and forced resignation of members from these respective parties of the
opposition. Allegations of corruption against the son of the Prime Minister worsened the
situation leading to the resignation of Morarji Desai. Congress-I won the elections in 1980, and
the significant features of this period from 1980-1984 included the centralization of power in the
hands of the central executive, the liberalizing of imports and promotion of exports, the attempt
to break up opposition consolidations, both at the centre and the state level. Nonetheless, there
was a growing feeling that the central government was acting in an authoritative manner with
respect to the states that reflected in the election victory of non-Congress parties in Karnataka,
Kerala and West Bengal. Presumably in retaliation for the attack on the Golden Temple, Indira
Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984, leading to riots in several parts of the country.

On the advice of a few senior Congress leaders and the nomination of the party president, Rajiv
Gandhi was then appointed as the Prime Minister of the country. Approvals from the working
committee and the legislature party were obtained later, reflecting on the personalized nature of
authority in Congress-I. This new government aimed to project an image of change, including
fewer government controls, liberal imports and greater reliance on the private sector. However,
this shift in the command structure of the government from being managed by personal authority
to being based on rational bureaucratic principles required the democratization of the party itself.
And because the organization was unwilling to take such risks, the older structure of power
flowing from the Prime Minister’s advisors soon reasserted itself. Rajiv Gandhi attempted to
arrive at political settlements in the states of Punjab and Assam where agitations had not
subsided. The period saw deterioration in the communal situation in the country, marked with the
rise of agitations and organized debates over communal issues on a national scale, with instances
such as that of rebuilding a new Ram temple in Ayodhya, and cases concerning the precedence
of Muslim law over secular law. The 1980s also witnessed the emergence of the farmer’s
movement, whose origins lay in the green revolution, wherein the capitalist famers demanded
greater state support for agricultural production and marketing. These movements were more like
pressure groups, periodically staging demonstrations, did not identify themselves with any
political party directly. In order to ensure homogenous and centrally controlled campaign,
Congress-I also actively controlled party funds, discouraging candidates from raising their own
election funds. The huge party funds were collected centrally, mostly as rewards from large
international deals carried out by the central ministries or the public sector companies. Such a
defense purchase from the Swedish armaments manufacturer Bofors became the centre of
controversy, charging the influential people in the party with corruption. This reflected in the
1989 general elections where the Congress-I was defeated, and the National Front formed a
government with support of the BJP and the Left parties.

But soon, the National Front government met with crisis, both internally and externally.
Externally, the crisis built over its confrontation with the BJP. The primary interest of defeating
the Congress-I with the help of the BJP, revealed itself in the growing popularity of the
organizationally charged forces of the Hindutva, now called the Sangh Parivar consisting of the
BJP, the RS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which carried out a huge campaign to build a
temple at the site of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, and in 1990 also declared that they would go
ahead with it, carrying out a procession throughout the country, to mobilize support for the
cause. Around the same time, V. P. Singh’s announcement to implement the recommendations of
the Mandal Commission was also met with violent protests by upper-caste-students and youths
across the country. Internally, the difficulty centred around the position of the deputy Prime
Minister’s son, who was charged with gross election rigging and was forced to resign, also
resulting in him being dropped from the cabinet.

In November 1990, the National Front government was defeated in a no-confidence vote in the
Lok Sabha, with Chandra Shekhar becoming the new Prime Minister of a minority government
with support from Congress-I. The government was completely at the mercy of the Congress-I
and did not even pretend to formulate a coherent policy, and in March 1991, Chandra Shekhar
resigned. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi affected the election and the Congress-I did not win
with a majority, but it became the single largest party. The main aim of this government was to
bring economics to the forefront of the political debate. Structural adjustments of the economy
were undertaken to procure loans from the International Monetary Fund. Liberalization processes
were accelerated to attract foreign investments. In the meantime, the BJP stepped up its
campaign for building of a temple in Ayodhya, and with its victory in the state elections of Uttar
Pradesh, they demolished the mosque, sending shock waves to the country. Although the BJP
governments in UP, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were dismissed, the
central government was not sure how to deal with the situation politically. The situation in
Kashmir also deteriorated politically, with the rise of militant activities, leading to the constant
confrontation between the army and security forces, and the militant organizations, which
resulted in countless deaths and the disruption of civic life. Although the party displayed great
sills in staying at power, internally, the Congress-I was on a path of rapid decline, with
decreasing mass electoral support.

This was reflected in the 1996 elections where the BJP made a strong entry in the northern and
western states thereby emerging as the single largest party in the Parliament. The various
regional parties and the left parties came together to form the United Front. A.B. Vajpayee was
invited to form the government. The ministry lasted for a week, and he resigned. As the United
Front, along with support from the Congress-I claimed to have the majority; H. D. Deve Gowda
from Janata Dal was asked to set up the ministry. Apart from the emergence of the regional
parties at the centre, recent trends in Indian politics thus show the rise in northern India, of a new
political assertion of the lower-caste groups. And for Chatterjee, alongside the rise of the
communalized political identities, this emergence of the new dalit-bahujan politics is an
important aspect of the political structure in independent India.