Independent India, 1947-2000

Description

Independent India is an exploration of India’s national history from independence in 1947 to the end of the twentieth century. Wendy Singer charts the rapid development of this emerging world power by following a series of different narratives crucial to the history of post-independence India: national integrations, the ongoing development of arts and culture, social movements, and political change. In telling the broader history of political movements and cultural transformations from different perspectives, this book provides key examples that demonstrate the experiences of women and men from the many classes and cultures that comprise modern India. In keeping with the series as a whole, this text also provides a range of primary source documents both to illuminate that history and to show the rich resources and unique challenges involved in writing contemporary history. Key features include:       Thematic chapters within a chronological structure, incorporating different approaches to the study of history      A varied range of primary sources, demonstrating the diversity of material available     In-depth social, cultural and political analysis, including the study of regional identities, film, literature, gender, politics and economic change Investigating India’s recent national history from a range of angles, this new Seminar Studies volume is an essential introduction for anyone who wishes to learn more about the important place that India, the world’s largest democracy, has in our global age. . Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgements Publisher’s acknowledgements Chronology Who’s who Glossary Maps PART ONE ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION 1 IMPLEMENTING A SECULAR STATE Concurrences – Partition and the Constituent Assembly The Partition: The Problem of Historiography Partition and the Constitution One Hundred Million Votes Caste The Constitution and Untouchability Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Conclusion 2 CONSOLIDATING THE NATION Kashmir and Hyderabad The China War (1962) Goa: The Last European Colony? The Communist Party in Kerala and Regional Assertion Conclusion 3 MODERNISM, GOVERNMENT, AND THE ARTS Chandigarh and Modernism Le Corbusier’s Influence on Indian Architecture Founding Museums, Promoting the Arts Modern Art National Museums Nationalist Literatures in a Multi-Cultural Nation Film Conclusion 4 GREEN AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS The Green Revolution The Naxalbari Rebellion India and the Revolt in East Pakistan Pakistan’s Internal Conflict Total Revolution and JP Anti-Price Rise Movement Towards Women’s Equality Conclusion 5 DEMOCRATIC WATERSHEDS The Emergency The Proclamation of the Emergency The 1977 Election Legacies of the Junata Government Consequence of the Junata Democracy in the States Backward Classes and the Janata Government The BJP and the Mandir Issue Conclusion: Mandal/Mandir and Changes in Governing 6 SOCIAL HISTORY AT THE CROSSROADS OF LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL MOVEMENTS Shah Bano – One Woman’s Story, Larger Consequences Responses to the Muslim Women’s Bill Women’s Parliamentary Politics Panchayats and Reservations Interpreting New Panchayats From Panchayats to Parliament Mayawati and Phoolan Devi, Leaders of Depressed Classes The Forest and Trees: Environmental Politics One Person’s Outsourcing and Another’s Mumbai Conclusion CONCLUSION – DEMOCRACY AND ACTIVISM Globalization and Economic Boom On the Global State, New Terrorism Globalization of Culture and Art Continuing Themes PART TWO DOCUMENTS 1 Jawaharlal Nehru’s Speech at Independence 2 Question in the Constituent Assembly about Partition 3 Report of the Advisory Committee on the Subject of Minority Rights 4 Articles 15 and 29 of the Constitution of India 5 Hyderabad and the United Nations 6 Two Accounts of the Telangana Movement 7 Land Revenue Administration: District Gazeteer of Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh 8 Telegram: Request from Kashmir 9 Accession of Kashmir 10 Panchsheel Agreement, 1954 11 Tibetan Refugees and the Dalai Lama Arrive in India 12 Edict of Chandigarh 13 Le Corbusier Sketch of Grain Market in Chandigarh – see Plate 5 14 Statute of Land – Chandigarh 15 Nek Chand Garden – see Plate 2 16 Principles of the Foundation of the National Gallery of Modern Art 17 ‘Mahisasura’ by Tyeb Mehta – see Plate 1 18 ‘Spirit of Everyday Life’ by Meera Mukherjee – see Plate 7 19 Retrospective on National Museum of India 20 On Harappa: Depictions of Ancient Pasts 21 Founding of Sahitya Akademi 22 Languages Recognised in the Constitution 23 The Official Language Issue 24 Regulation of the Film Industry 25 Political Calls for Land Reform 26 Agricultural Statistics 27 Surrender of Pakistan in Bangladesh War 28 Jayaprakash Narayan and “Total Revolution” 29 The Committee on the Status of Women in India 30 The Emergency: Twenty-Point Programme 31 Economic and Political Weekly on the Shah Commission Findings 32 Oral Accounts of the Emergency 33 Speech by A. K. Gopalan, a Member of Parliament, arrested during the Emergency 34 Anandpur Sahib Agreement of the Shiromani Akali Dal 35 Indira Gandhi’s Last Speech 36 1984 Election Poster – see Plate 3 37 Mandal Commission Report on Backward Classes 38 Amul Butter Advertisement – see Plate 8 39 Destruction of the Babri Masjid 40 The Shah Bano Maintenance in Marriage Case 41 Kerala’s Experience with Adapting Panchayats 42 Tehri Dam Judgment in the Supreme Court FURTHER READING REFERENCES INDEX