After so many years of
struggle and hardship, India finally attained freedom from the British Raj
on 15th August 1947.
A New and Divided Nation:
After Independence,
India faced a series of enormous challenges.Like-
i. The problems of
refugees and of the princely states had to be addressed immediately.
ii.The new nation had to
adopt a political system that would best serve the hopes and expectations of
its population.
iii. India’s population
in 1947 was large and was divided. Division between high castes and low castes,
between majority Hindu community and Indians who practiced other faiths could
be seen.
iv.Famers and peasants
were dependent on the monsoon for their survival.
v. The new nation had to
lift its masses out of poverty by increasing the productivity of agriculture
& by promoting new job creating industries.
vi. Unity &
development goes hand in hand. If the divisions between sections of India were
not healed, they could result in violent conflicts. Examples-
- Hindus Vs Muslims
- High castes fighting with the low castes
· A Constitution is
Written:.
The Constitution of
India is a document that establishes the political values, the powers of government
and the rights of the citizens of the country.
It is the supreme law of India.
It is the supreme law of India.
(i) The meetings
of ‘Constituent Assembly’ were held in New Delhi and representatives from all parts of
India attended the meeting. These discussions resulted in the framing of the
Indian Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950.
(ii) One feature of the
constitution was its adoption of Universal Adult Franchise; All Indians above the age of 21 would be
allowed to vote in the state and national elections. This was the revolutionary
step as Indians never had been allowed to choose their own leaders.
(iii) It guaranteed
equality before the law to all citizens, regardless of their caste or religious
affiliation. This was Constitution’s second feature.
(iv) The third feature
of the Constitution was that it offered special privileges for the poorest and
the most disadvantaged group of Indians.
(v) The practice of
untouchability was abolished. .
(vi) Temples which were
once opened for only higher castes, were now open to all including the
untouchables or Harijans.
(vii) Along with the
former Untouchables, the adivasis or Scheduled Tribes were also granted
reservation in seats and jobs.
(viii) The Constituent
Assembly spent many days in discussing the powers of the Central government and
of the State government. It was decided that Centre's interest should be
foremost as they will be in position to think & plan for the well-being of
the country as a whole.
(ix) The Constitution
sought to strike a balance of power, between the centre and the states by
providing three lists of subjects which are Union list, the State list and the
Concurrent list.
- The Union list has subjects like taxes, defence and foreign
affairs which are the responsibility of the Centre.
- The State list has subjects like education and health, which
would be taken care of principally by the state.
- The Concurrent list comprises of forests, agriculture, etc. in which
the centre and the states would have joint responsibility.
(x) Hindi was designated as
the ‘Official language’ of India and English would be used in the courts,
the services and communications between one state and another.
(xi) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the drafting committee
and under whose supervision the document was finalized played an important role
in framing the Indian Constitution and referred to as "The father of
Indian Constitution".
· How Were States to be
Formed:
(i) In 1920s, the Indian
National Congress amended its constitution and reorganized its regional branches
on the basis of linguistic (language) groups.
(ii) Prime Minister
Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel were against the creation of
linguistic states.
(iii) In October 1952, a
veteran Gandhian named Potti Sriramulu went on a hunger strike demanding the
formation of Andhra Pradesh to protect the interests of Telegu speaking people.
(iv) On 15 December
1952, fifty eight days into his fast, Potti Sriramulu died. His death led to
violence all over the state and central government was forced to give in to the
demand.
(v) On 1 October 1953,
the new state of Andhra Pradesh was created.
(vi) After creation of
Andhra Pradesh, other linguistic communities also demanded seperate states.
Therefore, a State Reorganisation Commission was set up.
(vii) Following
recommendations were done:
- The large Hindi-speaking region of north India was also
tobe broken up into several states.
- The bilingual state of Bombay was divided into separate
states for Marathi & Gujarati speakers.
- The state of Punjab was also divided into Punjab &
Haryana.
· Planning for
Development:
(i) Among the major
objectives of the new nation, lifting India and Indians out of poverty and
building a modern technical and industrial base were very strong.
(ii) In 1950, the
government set up a Planning Commission to help design and execute suitable
policies for economic development. It was agreed that India would follow ‘Mixed Economy’ model where both public and private
sectors would co-exist for the economic development of the nation.
(iii) In 1956, the
second five year plan was formulated which focused mainly on the development of
heavy industries in India such as steel, and on the building of large
dams.These sectors were directly under thecontrol of the state.
(iv) The Bhilai steel
plant of Chhatisgarh came to be seen as an important sign od development of
modern India after Independence.
· The Nation, Sixty Years
On:
(i) On 15 August 2007,
India celebrated sixty years of its existence as a free nation.
(ii) In these sixty
years, India has seen many achievements as well as failures.
(iii) Success during 60
years of India were-
- Still a united and a democratic country
- There is unity in diversity
- There is a free press and an independent judiciary
(iv) Failures during 60
years of India-
- Deep divisions persist
- Despite constitutional guarantees
- the untouchables or the Dalits face violence and
discrimination
- there are Clashes between different religious groups in
many states
- The gulf between the rich and poor has widened over
these years.
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