Thehistory of independent India orhistory of Republic of India began when the country became an independent sovereign state within theBritish Commonwealth on 15 August 1947. Direct administration by the British, which began in 1858, affected a political and economic unification of thesubcontinent. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious lines into two separate countries—India, with a majority ofHindus, andPakistan, with a majority ofMuslims.[1] Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east ofBritish India was separated into theDominion of Pakistan, by thePartition of India. The partition led to apopulation transfer of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan and the death of about one million people.Indian National Congress leaderJawaharlal Nehru became the firstPrime Minister of India, but the leader most associated with theindependence struggle,Mahatma Gandhi, accepted no office. Theconstitution adopted in 1950 madeIndia a democratic republic withWestminster style parliamentary system of government, both at federal and state level respectively. The democracy has been sustained since then. India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newly independent states,[2] despite its history being perforated by several crises and recent worries ofdemocratic backsliding under the premiership ofNarendra Modi.[3]
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The country has facedreligious violence,corruption,poverty,unemployment,language conflicts,naxalism,terrorism,separatist insurgencies in North East India andgender-based violence. India has unresolvedterritorial disputes overKashmir andArunachal Pradesh withChina which escalated into a war in1962 and1967,Kashmir with Pakistan which resulted in wars in1947–1948,1965,1971 and1999 andKalapani withNepal. India was neutral in theCold War, and was a leader in theNon-Aligned Movement. However, itmade a loose alliance with theSoviet Union from 1971, when Pakistan was allied with theUnited States and thePeople's Republic of China.
India isa nuclear-weapon state, having conducted its firstnuclear test in 1974, followed byanother five tests in 1998. From the 1950s to the 1980s, India followedsocialist-inspired policies. The economy was influenced byextensive regulation,protectionism and public ownership, leading to pervasivecorruption and slow economic growth. Since 1991,India has pursued more economic liberalisation. Today, India is thethird largest and one of thefastest-growing economies in the world.
From being a relatively struggling country in its formative years,[4] the Republic of India has emerged as a fast growingG20 major economy.[5][6] India has sometimes been referred to as agreat power and apotential superpower given its large and growing economy, military and population.[7][8][9][10]
Independent India's first years were marked with turbulent events—a massive exchange of population with Pakistan, theIndo-Pakistani War of 1947 and the integration of over 500princely states to form a united nation.[11]Vallabhbhai Patel,Jawaharlal Nehru andMahatma Gandhi also ensured that the constitution of independent India would be secular.[12]
The partition of India was outlined in theIndian Independence Act 1947. It led to the dissolution of theBritish Raj inSouth Asia and the creation of two independentdominions:India andPakistan.[13][14] The change of political borders notably included the division of two provinces ofBritish India,[a]Bengal andPunjab.[15] The majorityMuslim districts in these provinces were awarded to Pakistan and the majority non-Muslim to India. The other assets that were divided included theBritish Indian Army, theRoyal Indian Navy, theRoyal Indian Air Force, theIndian Civil Service, therailways, and the central treasury. Self-governing independent Pakistan and India legally came into existence at midnight on 14 and 15 August 1947 respectively.
The partition caused large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration between the two dominions.[16] Among refugees who survived, it solidified the belief that safety lay among co-religionists. In the instance of Pakistan, it made palpable a hitherto only-imagined refuge for the Muslims of British India.[17] The migrations took place hastily and with little warning. It is thought that between 14 million and 18 million people moved, and perhaps more.Excess mortality during the period of the partition is usually estimated to have been around one million.[18] The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that affectstheir relationship to this day.
An estimated 3.5 million[19] Hindus andSikhs living inWest Punjab,North-West Frontier Province,Baluchistan,East Bengal andSind migrated to India in fear of domination and suppression in Muslim Pakistan. Communal violence killed an estimated one million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and gravely destabilised both dominions along theirPunjab andBengal boundaries, and the cities ofCalcutta, Delhi andLahore. The violence was stopped by early September owing to the co-operative efforts of both Indian and Pakistani leaders, and especially due to the efforts ofMohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Indian freedom struggle, who undertook afast-unto-death in Calcutta and later in Delhi to calm people and emphasise peace despite the threat to his life. Both governments constructed large relief camps for incoming and leaving refugees, and theIndian Army was mobilised to provide humanitarian assistance on a massive scale.
I find no parallel in history for a body of converts and their descendants claiming to be a nation apart from the parent stock.
— Mahatma Gandhi,opposing the division of India on the basis of religion in 1945.[20]
Theassassination of Mohandas Gandhi on 30 January 1948 was carried out byNathuram Godse, who held him responsible for partition and charged that Mohandas Gandhi was appeasing Muslims. More than one million people flooded the streets of Delhi to follow the procession to cremation grounds and pay their last respects.
In 1949, India recorded almost 1 million Hindu refugees intoWest Bengal and other states fromEast Pakistan, owing to communal violence, intimidation, and repression from Muslim authorities. The plight of the refugees outraged Hindus and Indian nationalists, and the refugee population drained the resources of Indian states, who were unable to absorb them. While not ruling out war, Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Patel invitedLiaquat Ali Khan for talks in Delhi. Although many Indians termed thisappeasement, Nehru signed a pact with Liaquat Ali Khan that pledged both nations to the protection of minorities and creation of minority commissions. Although opposed to the principle, Patel decided to back this pact for the sake of peace, and played a critical role in garnering support from West Bengal and across India, and enforcing the provisions of the pact. Khan and Nehru also signed a trade agreement, and committed to resolving bilateral disputes through peaceful means. Steadily, hundreds of thousands of Hindus returned to East Pakistan, but the thaw in relations did not last long, primarily owing to the Kashmir dispute.
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In July 1946,Jawaharlal Nehru pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India.[21] In January 1947, Nehru said that independent India would not accept thedivine right of kings.[22] In May 1947, he declared that any princely state which refused to join theConstituent Assembly would be treated as an enemy state.[23]British India consisted of 17 provinces, which existed alongside 565princely states. The provinces were given to India or Pakistan, in two particular cases—Punjab andBengal—after being partitioned. The princes of the princely states, however, were given the right to either remain independent or accede to either dominion. Thus India's leaders were faced with the prospect of inheriting a fragmented country with independent states and kingdoms dispersed across the mainland. Under the leadership ofSardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the new Government of India employed political negotiations backed with the option (and, on several occasions, the use) of military action to ensure the primacy of the central government and of the Constitution then being drafted. Sardar Patel andV. P. Menon convinced the rulers of princely states contiguous to India to accede to India. Many rights and privileges of the rulers of the princely states, especially their personal estates and privy purses, were guaranteed to convince them to accede. Some of them were madeRajpramukh (governor) and Uprajpramukh (deputy governor) of the merged states. Many small princely states were merged to form viable administrative states such asSaurashra,PEPSU,Vindhya Pradesh andMadhya Bharat. Some princely states such asTripura andManipur acceded later in 1949.
There were three states that proved more difficult to integrate than others:
The Constitution of India was adopted by theConstituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950.[25] The constitution replaced theGovernment of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document, and theDominion of India became theRepublic of India. To ensureconstitutional autochthony, its framers repealed prior acts of theBritish parliament in Article 395.[26] The constitution declares India asovereign,socialist, secular,[27] and democratic republic, assures its citizensjustice,equality, andliberty, and endeavours to promotefraternity.[28] Key features of the constitution wereUniversal suffrage for all adults,Westminster style parliamentary system of government at the federal and state level, and independent judiciary.[29]Indian judiciary continues to sufferpendency of court cases. The constitution also required theUnion Government and theStates and Territories of India to setreserved quotas or seats, at particular percentage in Education Admissions, Employments, Political Bodies, Promotions, etc., for "socially and educationally backward citizens."[30][31] The constitution has hadmore than 100 amendments since it was enacted.[32]India celebrates its constitution on 26 January asRepublic Day.[33]
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 was fought betweenIndia andPakistan over theprincely state ofKashmir and Jammu from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of fourIndo-Pakistan Wars fought between the twonewly independent nations. Pakistan precipitated the war a few weeks after independence by launching triballashkar (militia) fromWaziristan,[34] in an effort to secure Kashmir, the future of which hung in the balance. A United Nations-mediated ceasefire took place on 5 January 1949.
Indian losses in the war totalled 1,104 killed and 3,154 wounded;[35] Pakistani, about 6,000 killed and 14,000 wounded.[36]Neutral assessments state India emerged victorious as it successfully defended the majority of the contested territory.[37][38][39][40][41]
India held its first national elections under the Constitution in1952, where a turnout of over 60% was recorded. TheIndian National Congress won an overwhelming majority, andJawaharlal Nehru began a second term as prime minister. President Prasad was also elected to a second term by the electoral college of the firstParliament of India.[42]
Nehru can be regarded as the founder of the modern Indian state. Parekh attributes this to the national philosophy Nehru formulated for India. For him, modernisation was the national philosophy, with seven goals: national unity, parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, socialism, development of the scientific temper, and non-alignment in theCold War. In Parekh's opinion, the philosophy and the policies that resulted from this benefited a large section of society such as public sector workers, industrial houses, and middle and upper peasantry. However, it failed to benefit or satisfy the urban and rural poor, the unemployed and theHindu nationalists and fundamentalists.[43]
The death of Vallabhbhai Patel in 1950 left Nehru as the sole remaining iconic national leader, and soon the situation became such that Nehru could implement his vision for India without hindrance.[44]
Nehru implemented economic policies based onimport substitution industrialisation and advocated amixed economy where the government-controlledpublic sector would co-exist with theprivate sector.[45] He believed the establishment of basic and heavy industry was fundamental to the development and modernisation of the Indian economy. The government, therefore, directed investment primarily into keypublic sector industries—steel, iron, coal, and power—promoting their development with subsidies and protectionist policies.[46]
Nehru led the Congress to further election victories in 1957 and 1962. During his tenure, the Indian Parliament passed extensive reforms that increased the legal rights of women in Hindu society,[47][48][49][50] and further legislated against caste discrimination anduntouchability.[citation needed] Nehru advocated a strong initiative to enroll India's children to complete primary education, and thousands of schools, colleges and institutions of advanced learning, such as theIndian Institutes of Technology, were founded across the nation.[51] Nehru advocated a socialist model for theeconomy of India. After India achieved independence, a formal model of planning was adopted, and accordingly thePlanning Commission, reporting directly to the Prime Minister, was established in 1950, with Nehru as the chairman. The commission was tasked with formulatingFive-Year Plans for economic development which were shaped by theSoviet model based on centralised and integrated national economic programs[52]—no taxation for Indian farmers, minimum wage and benefits for blue-collar workers, and thenationalisation of heavy industries such as steel, aviation, shipping, electricity, and mining. Villagecommon lands were seized, and an extensive public works and industrialisation campaign resulted in the construction of major dams, irrigation canals, roads, thermal and hydroelectric power stations, and many more.[citation needed]
Potti Sreeramulu'sfast-unto-death, and consequent death for the demand of anAndhra State in 1952 sparked a major re-shaping of the Indian Union. Nehru appointed the States Re-organisation Commission, upon whose recommendations theStates Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956. Old states were dissolved and new states created on the lines of shared linguistic and ethnic demographics. The separation ofKerala and theTelugu-speaking regions ofMadras State enabled the creation of an exclusivelyTamil-speaking state ofTamil Nadu. On 1 May 1960, the states ofMaharashtra andGujarat were created out of the bilingualBombay State, and on 1 November 1966, the largerPunjab state was divided into the smaller,Punjabi-speakingPunjab andHaryanvi-speakingHaryana states.[53]
In pre-independence India, the main parties were the Congress and the Muslim league. There were also many other parties such as theHindu mahasabha,Justice party, theAkali dal, theCommunist party etc. during this period with limited or regional appeal. With the eclipse of the Muslim league due to partition, the Congress party was able to dominate Indian politics during the 1950s. This started breaking down during the 60s and 70s.This period saw formation of many new parties. These included those founded by former congress leaders such as the Swatantra party, many Socialist leaning parties, and theBharatiya Jan Sangh, the political arm of the Hindu nationalistRSS.[54]
On 4 June 1959, shortly after the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress,C. Rajagopalachari,[55] along with Murari Vaidya of the newly established Forum of Free Enterprise (FFE)[56] andMinoo Masani, aclassical liberal and critic of socialist leaning Nehru, announced the formation of the newSwatantra Party at a meeting in Madras.[57] Conceived by disgruntled heads of former princely states such as the Raja of Ramgarh, the Maharaja of Kalahandi and the Maharajadhiraja of Darbhanga, the party was conservative in character.[58][59] Later,N. G. Ranga,K. M. Munshi,Field MarshalK. M. Cariappa and the Maharaja of Patiala joined the effort.[59] Rajagopalachari, Masani and Ranga also tried but failed to involveJayaprakash Narayan in the initiative.[60]
In his short essay "Our Democracy", Rajagopalachari argued the necessity of a right-wing alternative to the Congress: "since ... the Congress Party has swung to the Left, what is wanted is not an ultra or outer-Left [viz. the CPI or the Praja Socialist Party, PSP], but a strong and articulate Right."[58] Rajagopalachari also said the opposition must: "operate not privately and behind the closed doors of the party meeting, but openly and periodically through the electorate."[58] He outlined the goals of the Swatantra Party through twenty-one "fundamental principles" in the foundation document.[61] The party stood for equality and opposed government control over the private sector.[62][63] Rajagopalachari sharply criticised the bureaucracy and coined the term "licence-permit Raj" to describe Nehru's elaborate system of permissions and licences required for an individual to set up a private enterprise. Rajagopalachari's personality became a rallying point for the party.[58]
Rajagopalachari's efforts to build an anti-Congress front led to a patch-up with his former adversaryC. N. Annadurai of theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[64] During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Annadurai grew close to Rajagopalachari and sought an alliance with the Swatantra Party for the1962 Madras Legislative Assembly elections. Although there were occasional electoral pacts between the Swatantra Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rajagopalachari remained non-committal on a formal tie-up with the DMK due to its existing alliance with Communists whom he dreaded.[65] The Swatantra Party contested 94 seats in the Madras state assembly elections and won six[66] as well as won 18 parliamentary seats in the1962 Lok Sabha elections.[67]
Nehru's foreign policy was the inspiration of theNon-Aligned Movement, of which India was a co-founder. Nehru maintained friendly relations with both the United States and theSoviet Union, and encouraged the People's Republic of China to join the global community of nations. In 1956, when theSuez Canal Company was seized by the Egyptian government, an international conference voted 18–4 to take action against Egypt. India was one of the four backers of Egypt, along withIndonesia,Sri Lanka, and the USSR. India had opposed thepartition of Palestine and the 1956 invasion of theSinai by Israel, the United Kingdom and France, but did not oppose the Chinese direct control overTibet,[68] and the suppression of a pro-democracy movement inHungary by the Soviet Union. Although Nehru disavowed nuclear ambitions for India, Canada and France aided India in the development of nuclear power stations for electricity. India also negotiated an agreement in 1960 with Pakistan on the just use of the waters of seven rivers shared by the countries. Nehru had visited Pakistan in 1953, but owing to political turmoil in Pakistan, no headway was made on the Kashmir dispute.[69]
India has fought a total of fourwars/military conflicts with its neighbouring rival state Pakistan, two in this period. In theIndo-Pakistani War of 1947, fought over the disputed territory ofKashmir, Pakistan captured one-third of Kashmir (which India claims as its territory), and India captured three-fifths (which Pakistan claims as its territory). In theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965, India attacked Pakistan on all fronts by crossing the international border after attempts by Pakistani troops to infiltrate Indian-controlled Kashmir by crossing the de facto border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir.
In 1961, after continual petitions for a peaceful handover, Indiainvaded and annexed the Portuguese colony ofGoa on the west coast of India.[70]
In 1962 China and India engaged in the briefSino-Indian War over the border in theHimalayas. The war was a complete rout for the Indians and led to a refocusing on arms build-up and an improvement in relations with the United States. China withdrew from disputed territory in the contested ChineseSouth Tibet and IndianNorth-East Frontier Agency that it crossed during the war. India disputes China's sovereignty over the smallerAksai Chin territory that it controls on the western part of the Sino-Indian border.[71]
Jawaharlal Nehru died on 27 May 1964, andLal Bahadur Shastri succeeded him as prime minister. In 1965, India and Pakistan againwent to war over Kashmir, but without any definitive outcome or alteration of the Kashmir boundary. TheTashkent Agreement was signed under the mediation of the Soviet government, but Shastri died on the night after the signing ceremony. A leadership election resulted in the elevation ofIndira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter who had been serving as Minister for Information and Broadcasting, as the third prime minister. She defeated right-wing leaderMorarji Desai. The Congress Party won a reduced majority in the 1967 elections owing to widespread disenchantment over rising prices of commodities, unemployment, economic stagnation, and food crisis. Indira Gandhi had started on a rocky note after agreeing to adevaluation of therupee, which created much hardship for Indian businesses and consumers, and the import of wheat from the United States fell through due to political disputes.[72]
In 1967, India and China again engaged with each other inSino-Indian War of 1967 after the PLA soldiers opened fire on the Indian soldiers who were making a fence on the border in Nathu La. The Indian forces successfully repelled Chinese forces and the outcome saw Chinese defeat with their withdrawal from Sikkim.
Morarji Desai entered Gandhi's government as deputy prime minister and finance minister, and with senior Congress politicians attempted to constrain Gandhi's authority. But following the counsel of her political advisorP. N. Haksar, Gandhi resuscitated her popular appeal by a major shift towards socialist policies. She successfully ended thePrivy Purse guarantee for former Indian royalty, and waged a major offensive against party hierarchy over the nationalisation of India's banks. Although resisted by Desai and India's business community, the policy was popular with the masses. When Congress politicians attempted to oust Gandhi by suspending her Congress membership, Gandhi was empowered with a large exodus of members of parliament to her own Congress (R). The bastion of the Indian freedom struggle, theIndian National Congress, had split in 1969. Gandhi continued to govern with a slim majority.[73]
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In 1971, Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) were returned to power with a massively increased majority. The nationalisation of banks was carried out, and many other socialist economic and industrial policies enacted. Indiaintervened in theBangladesh War of Independence, a civil war taking place in Pakistan'sBengali half, after millions of refugees had fled the persecution of the Pakistani army. The clash resulted in the independence of East Pakistan, which became known asBangladesh, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's elevation to immense popularity. Relations with the United States grew strained, and India signed a 20-year treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union—breaking explicitly for the first time from non-alignment. In 1974, India testedits first nuclear weapon in the desert ofRajasthan, nearPokhran.
In 1973, anti-royalist riots took place in theKingdom of Sikkim. In 1975, the Prime Minister ofSikkim appealed to theIndian Parliament for Sikkim to become a state of India. In April of that year, theIndian Army took over the city ofGangtok and disarmed the Chogyal's palace guards. Thereafter,a referendum was held in which 97.5 percent of voters supported abolishing the monarchy, effectively approving union with India.
India is said to have stationed 20,000–40,000 troops in a country of only 200,000 during the referendum.[74] On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, and the monarchy was abolished.[75] To enable the incorporation of the new state, theIndian Parliament amended theIndian Constitution. First, the35th Amendment laid down a set of conditions that made Sikkim an "associate state", a special designation not used by any other state. A month later, the36th Amendment repealed the 35th Amendment, and made Sikkim a full state, adding its name to theFirst Schedule of the Constitution.[76]
In theNortheast India, the state ofAssam was divided into several states beginning in 1970 within the borders of what was then Assam. In 1963, the Naga Hills district became the 16th state of India under the name ofNagaland. Part ofTuensang was added to Nagaland. In 1970, in response to the demands of theKhasi,Jaintia andGaro people of theMeghalaya Plateau, the districts embracing theKhasi Hills,Jaintia Hills, andGaro Hills were formed into an autonomous state within Assam; in 1972 this became a separate state under the name ofMeghalaya. In 1972,Arunachal Pradesh (theNorth-East Frontier Agency) andMizoram (from theMizo Hills in the south) were separated from Assam as union territories; both became states in 1986.[77]
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India's population passed the 500 million mark in the early 1970s, but its long-standing food crisis was resolved with greatly improved agricultural productivity due to theGreen Revolution. The government sponsored modern agricultural implements, new varieties of generic seeds, and increased financial assistance to farmers that increased the yield of food crops such as wheat, rice and corn, as well as commercial crops like cotton, tea, tobacco and coffee.[79] Increased agricultural productivity expanded across the states of theIndo-Gangetic Plain and thePunjab.
UnderOperation Flood, the government encouraged the production of milk, which increased greatly, and improved rearing of livestock across India. This enabled India to become self-sufficient in feeding its own population, ending two decades of food imports.[80]
TheIndo-Pakistani War of 1971 was the third in four wars fought between the two nations. The war was fought in December 1971 over the issue of Bangladesh. India decisively defeated Pakistan, resulting in the creation ofBangladesh.
The crisis started with Punjabi dominated Pakistani army refusing to surrender power to the newly elected but mainly BengaliAwami League led by Shaikh Mujibur Rehman.Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence in march of 1971 by Rehman led to widespread atrocities being committed by the Pakistani army against select groups. It is estimated that starting in March 1971, members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militiaskilled between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians in Bangladesh.[81][82][83][84][85] During the conflict, members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias called the Razakarsraped between 200,000 and 400,000Bangladeshi women and girls in a systematic campaign ofgenocidal rape.[86][87][88][89] The murders and rapes led to an estimated eight to ten million people to flee East Pakistan to seek refuge in India.[90][91][92][93][94]
Official de-jure war began withPakistan airforce-affiliatedOperation Chengiz Khan, which consisted of preemptive aerial strikes on 11Indian air stations resulting in minor damages and suspension of counter-air operations for mere few hours.[95] The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking their entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side ofBengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts.[96] Thirteen days into the war, India had achieved total superiority into theEast meanwhile it had sufficient superiority in theWest, which resulted later inEastern defence ofPakistan to sign a jointinstrument of surrender.[97][98] on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, ending conflict officially and marking theformation of East Pakistan as the new nation ofBangladesh. Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen weretaken prisoner by theIndian Army, which included 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces, including some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan.[99][100] The remaining 10,324 to 12,500prisoners were civilians, either family members of the military personnel or collaborators (Razakars).[101][102][103]
India in the first half of the 1970s faced high inflation caused by the1973 oil crisis which resulted in cost of oil imports to rise substantially, the cost of the Bangladesh war and the refugee resettlement, and food shortages caused by droughts in parts of the country. The economic and social problems caused by high inflation, as well as allegations of corruption against Indira Gandhi and her government, caused increasing political unrest across India during 1973–74. This included theRailway Strike in 1974, theMaoist Naxalite movement, theBihar student agitations, the United Women's Anti- Price Rise Front in Maharashtra and theNav Nirman movement in Gujarat.[104][105]
Raj Narain was theSamyukta Socialist Party Candidate and Indira's opponent in the 1971Lok Sabha elections fromRai Bareli. Although he suffered a defeat from her in 1971 elections, he accusedIndira Gandhi of corrupt electoral practices and filed anelection petition against her. Four years later on 12 June 1975, theAllahabad High Court gave their verdict, and found Indira Gandhi guilty of misusing government machinery for election purposes.[106] Opposition parties conducted nationwide strikes and protests demanding her immediate resignation. Various political parties united underJaya Prakash Narayan to resist what he termed Gandhi's dictatorship. Leading strikes across India that paralysed its economy and administration, Narayan even called for the Army to oust Gandhi.
On 25 June 1975, Gandhi advised PresidentFakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare astate of emergency under the constitution, which allowed the central government to assume sweeping powers to defend law and order in the nation. Explaining the breakdown of law and order and threat to national security as her primary reasons, Gandhi suspended manycivil liberties and postponed elections at national and state levels.[107][108] Non-Congress governments in Indian states were dismissed, and nearly 1,000 opposition political leaders and activists were imprisoned.[109] Her government also introduced a contentious programme of compulsory birth control.[110][111][112][113][114][115] Strikes and public protests were outlawed in all forms.
India's economy benefited from an end to paralysing strikes and political disorder. India announced a 20-point programme which enhanced agricultural and industrial production, increasing national growth, productivity, and job growth. But many organs of government and many Congress politicians were accused of corruption and authoritarian conduct. Police officers were accused of arresting and torturing innocent people. Indira's then twentynine year old son, and unofficial political advisor,Sanjay Gandhi, was accused of committing gross excesses—Sanjay was blamed for the Health Ministry carrying out forcedvasectomies of men andsterilisation of women as a part of the initiative to control population growth, and for the demolition of slums in Delhi near the Turkmen Gate, which left hundreds of people dead or injured, and many more displaced.[111][112][113][114][115][116][117]
Indira Gandhi's Congress Party called for general elections in 1977, only to suffer a humiliating electoral defeat at the hands of theJanata Party, anamalgamation of opposition parties.[118]Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. The Desai administration established tribunals to investigate Emergency-era abuses, and Indira and Sanjay Gandhi were arrested after a report from theShah Commission.[119]
In economic policy the Janata government had lesser success in achieving economic reforms. It launched the Sixth Five-Year Plan, aiming to boost agricultural production and rural industries. Seeking to promote economic self-reliance and indigenous industries, the government required multi-national corporations to go into partnership with Indian corporations. The policy proved controversial, diminishing foreign investment and led to the high-profile exit of corporations such asCoca-Cola andIBM from India.[120]
The Janata party government under Morarji Desai Desai restored normal relations with China, for the first time sincethe 1962 war.Desai also established friendlier relationship with the military ruler of Pakistan, GeneralZia-ul-Haq.Despite his pacifist leanings, Desai refused to sign the non-nuclear proliferation treaty despite the threat of stopping supply of uranium for power plants by the USA Congress.[121]
In 1979, the Janata coalition crumbled andCharan Singh formed an interim government. The Janata Party had become intensely unpopular due to its internecine warfare, and a perceived lack of leadership on solving India's serious economic and social problems.
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Indira Gandhi and her Congress Party splinter group, theIndian National Congress or simply "Congress(I)", were swept back into power with a large majority in January 1980.
But the rise of an insurgency in Punjab would jeopardise India's security. InAssam, there were many incidents of communal violence between native villagers and refugees from Bangladesh, as well as settlers from other parts of India. When Indian forces, undertakingOperation Blue Star, raided the hideout of self-rule pressing[110]Khalistan militants in theGolden Temple — Sikhs' most holy shrine – inAmritsar, the inadvertent deaths of civilians and damage to the temple building inflamed tensions in the Sikh community across India. The Government used intensive police operations to crush militant operations, but it resulted in many claims of abuse of civil liberties. North-east India was paralysed owing to theULFA's clash with Government forces.
On 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi wasassassinated by two of her bodyguards, andanti-Sikh riots erupted in Delhi and parts of Punjab, causing the deaths of thousands of Sikhs along with pillage, arson, and rape. Senior members of the Congress Party have been implicated in stirring the violence against Sikhs. Government investigation has failed to date to discover the causes and punish the perpetrators, but public opinion blamed Congress leaders for directing attacks on Sikhs in Delhi.
The Congress party choseRajiv Gandhi, Indira's older son, as the next prime minister. Rajiv had been elected to Parliament only in 1982, and at 40, was the youngest national political leader and prime minister ever. But his youth and inexperience were an asset in the eyes of citizens tired of the inefficacy and corruption of career politicians, and looking for newer policies and a fresh start to resolve the country's long-standing problems. The Parliament was dissolved, and Rajiv led the Congress party to its largest majority in history (over 415 seats out of 545 possible), reaping a sympathy vote over his mother's assassination.[123]
Rajiv Gandhi initiated a series of reforms: theLicence Raj was loosened, and government restrictions on foreign currency, travel, foreign investment, and imports decreased considerably. This allowed private businesses to use resources and produce commercial goods without government bureaucracy interfering, and the influx of foreign investment increased India's national reserves. As prime minister, Rajiv broke from his mother's precedent to improve relations with the United States, which increased economic aid and scientific co-operation. Rajiv's encouragement of science and technology resulted in a major expansion of the telecommunications industry andIndia's space programme, and gave birth to thesoftware industry and information technology sector.[124] Rajiv received criticism from some members of the Congress Party for his economic liberalisation policy, which led him to pledge in 1985 (as noted by one journal) ‘not to deviate from the ideals and principles of socialism “under any circumstances.”’[125]
In December 1984,gas leaked out at theUnion Carbide pesticides plant in the central Indian city ofBhopal. Thousands were killed immediately, while many more subsequently died or were left disabled.[110]
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India in 1987 brokered an agreement with the Government ofSri Lanka and agreed to deploy troops for peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict led by theLTTE. Rajiv sent Indian troops to enforce the agreement and disarm theTamil rebels, but the Indian Peace Keeping Force, as it was known, became entangled in outbreaks of violence, ultimately ending up fighting the Tamil rebels itself, and becoming a target of attack from Sri Lankan nationalists.[126]V. P. Singh withdrew the IPKF in 1990, but thousands of Indian soldiers had died. Rajiv's departure from socialist policies did not sit well with the masses, who did not benefit from the innovations. Unemployment was a serious problem, and India's burgeoning population added ever-increasing needs for diminishing resources.
Rajiv Gandhi's image as an honest politician (he was nicknamed "Mr. Clean" by the press) was shattered when theBofors scandal broke, revealing that senior government officials had taken bribes over defence contracts by a Swedish guns producer.[127]
General elections in 1989 gave Rajiv's Congress aplurality, much less than the majority which propelled him to power.[128]
Power came instead to his former finance and defence minister,VP Singh ofJanata Dal. Singh had been moved from the Finance ministry to the Defence ministry after he unearthed some scandals which made the Congress leadership uncomfortable. Singh then unearthed theBofors scandal, and was sacked from the party and office.[129] Becoming a popular crusader for reform and clean government, Singh led the Janata Dal coalition to a majority. He was supported by BJP and the leftist parties from outside. Becoming Prime Minister, Singh made an important visit to the Golden Temple shrine, to heal the wounds of the past. He implemented theMandal Commission report, to increase the quota in reservation for low-caste Hindus.[130] His government fell after Singh, along with Bihar's Chief MinisterLalu Prasad Yadav's government, hadAdvani arrested inSamastipur and stopped hisRam Rath Yatra, which was going to the Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya on 23 October 1990. TheBharatiya Janata Party withdrew their support to Singh government, causing them to lose parliamentary vote of confidence on 7 November 1990.[131]Chandra Shekhar split to form the Janata Dal (Socialist), supported by Rajiv's Congress. This new government also collapsed in a matter of months, when Congress withdrew its support.
The then-Chief Minister ofJammu and KashmirFarooq Abdullah (son of former Chief MinisterSheikh Abdullah) announced an alliance with the ruling Congress party for the elections of 1987. But, the elections were allegedly rigged in favour of him. This led to the rise of the armed extremistinsurgency in Jammu and Kashmir composed, in part, of those who unfairly lost elections. India has constantly maintained the position of blaming Pakistan for supplying these groups with logistical support, arms, recruits and training.[132]
Militants inKashmir reportedly tortured and killed localKashmiri Pandits, forcing them to leave Kashmir in large numbers.[133][better source needed] Around 90% of the Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir during the 1990s, resulting in theethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus.[citation needed]
On 21 May 1991, while former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi campaigned inTamil Nadu on behalf of Congress (Indira), aLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)female suicide bomber assassinated him and many others by setting off the bomb in her belt by leaning forward while garlanding him. In the elections, Congress (Indira) won 244 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, returning to power under the leadership ofP.V. Narasimha Rao. This Congress-led government, which served a full five-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic liberalisation and reform, which has opened theIndian economy to global trade and investment. India's domestic politics also took new shape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally-based political parties.[134]
But India was rocked by communal violence (seeBombay riots) between Hindus and Muslims that killed over 10,000 people, following theBabri Mosque demolition by Hindu extremists in the course of theRam Janmabhoomi dispute inAyodhya in December 1992.[135] On 12 March 1993, a series ofblasts occurred inMumbai which killed 257 people and injured more than 1400 people. The attack was claimed byDawood Ibrahim, the leader of the Mumbai-based organised crime syndicate, theD-Company. The final months of the Rao-led government in the spring of 1996 suffered the effects of several major political corruption scandals, which contributed to the worst electoral performance by the Congress Party in its history till then as the Hindu nationalistBharatiya Janata Party emerged as the largest single party.[136]
Under thepolicies initiated by the then Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao and his then-Finance Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, India's economy expanded rapidly. The economic reforms were a reaction to animpending balance of payment crisis. The Rao administration initiated theprivatisation of large, inefficient, and loss-inducing government corporations. The UF government had attempted a progressive budget that encouraged reforms, but the1997 Asian financial crisis and political instability created economic stagnation. The Vajpayee administration continued with privatisation, reduction of taxes, a soundfiscal policy aimed at reducing deficits and debts, and increased initiatives for public works. Cities likeBangalore,Hyderabad,Pune, andAhmedabad have risen in prominence and economic importance, becoming centres of rising industries and destinations for foreign investment and firms. Strategies like forming Special Economic Zones—tax amenities, good communications infrastructure, low regulation—to encourage industries has paid off in many parts of the country.[140]
A rising generation of well-educated and skilled professionals in scientific sectors of the industry began propelling the Indian economy, as the information technology industry took hold across India with the proliferation of computers. The new technologies increased the efficiency of activity in almost every type of industry, which also benefitted from the availability of skilled labor. Foreign investment and outsourcing of jobs to India's labor markets further enhanced India's economic growth. A large middle class has arisen across India, which has increased the demand, and thus the production of a wide array ofconsumer goods. Unemployment is steadily declining, and poverty has fallen to approximately 22%. Gross Domestic Product growth increased to beyond 7%. While serious challenges remain, India is enjoying a period of economic expansion that has propelled it to the forefront of the world economy, and has correspondingly increased its influence in political and diplomatic terms.[2]
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TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged from the May 1996 national elections as the single-largest party in theLok Sabha but without enough strength to prove a majority on the floor of that Parliament. Under Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition lasted in power 13 days. With all political parties wishing to avoid another round of elections, a 14-party coalition led by theJanata Dal emerged to form a government known as the United Front. A United Front government under formerChief Minister of KarnatakaH. D. Deve Gowda lasted less than a year. The leader of the Congress Party withdrew support in March 1997.Inder Kumar Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for Prime Minister of a 16-party United Front coalition.[141]
In November 1997, the Congress Party again withdrew support for the United Front. New elections in February 1998 brought the BJP the largest number of seats in Parliament (182), but this fell far short of a majority. On 20 March 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led coalition government, with Vajpayee again serving as prime minister. On 11 and 13 May 1998, this government conducted a series of five underground nuclear weapons tests, known collectively asPokhran-II — which caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year.[142] India's nuclear tests prompted President of the United StatesBill Clinton and Japan to imposeeconomic sanctions on India pursuant to the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act and led to widespread international condemnation.
In the early months of 1999, Prime Minister Vajpayee made a historic bus trip to Pakistan and met with Pakistan's prime ministerNawaz Sharif, signing the bilateralLahore peace declaration.[110]
In April 1999, the coalition government led by theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart, leading to fresh elections in September. In May and June 1999, India discovered an elaborate campaign of terrorist infiltration that resulted in theKargil War in Kashmir, derailing a promising peace process that had begun only three months earlier when Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Pakistan, inaugurating the Delhi-Lahore bus service. Indian forces killed Pakistan-backed infiltrators and reclaimed important border posts in high-altitude warfare.[143]
Soaring on popularity earned following the successful conclusion of the Kargil conflict, theNational Democratic Alliance—a new coalition led by the BJP—gained a majority to form a government with Vajpayee as prime minister in October 1999. The end of the millennium was devastating to India, as acyclone hitOrissa, killing at least 10,000.[110]
In May 2000, India's population exceeded 1 billion. President of the United StatesBill Clinton made a groundbreaking visit to India to improve ties between the two nations. In January, massiveearthquakes hit Gujarat state, killing at least 30,000.
Prime Minister Vajpayee met with Pakistan's PresidentPervez Musharraf in the first summit between Pakistan and India in more than two years in the middle of 2001. But the meeting failed without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir region.[110]
Three new states —Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand andUttarakhand (originally Uttaranchal) — were formed in November 2000.
The National Democratic Alliance government's credibility was adversely affected by a number of political scandals (such as allegations that the Defence MinisterGeorge Fernandes took bribes) as well as reports of intelligence failures that led to the Kargil incursions going undetected, and the apparent failure of his talks with the Pakistani President.[110][145] Following theSeptember 11 attacks, the United States lifted sanctions which it had imposed against India and Pakistan in 1998. The move was seen as a reward for their support for thewar on terror. The tensions of an imminent war between India and Pakistan again rose by the heavy Indian firing on Pakistani military posts along theLine of Control and the subsequent deadly2001 Indian Parliament attack on 13 December 2001 and the2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff.[110]
On 27 February 2002, 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in a train fire inGodhra, Gujarat. This sparked off the2002 Gujarat riots, leading to the deaths of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus and with 223 people reported missing.
Throughout 2003, India's speedy economic progress, political stability, and a rejuvenated peace initiative with Pakistan increased the government's popularity. India and Pakistan agreed to resume direct air links and to allow overflights, and a groundbreaking meeting was held between the Indian government and moderate Kashmir separatists.[110] TheGolden Quadrilateral project aimed to link India's corners with a network of modern highways.
In January 2004 Prime Minister Vajpayee recommended early dissolution of theLok Sabha and general elections. an alliance led by theCongress Party calledUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) won a surprise victory inelections held in May 2004.Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, after the Congress PresidentSonia Gandhi, the widow of former prime ministerRajiv Gandhi, declined to take the office, to defuse the controversy about whether her foreign birth should be considered a disqualification for the Prime Minister's post. Apart from the Congress party, other members of UPA included Socialist and regional parties. The alliance had outside support of India'sCommunist parties. Manmohan Singh became the firstSikh and non-Hindu to hold India's most powerful office. Singh continued economic liberalisation, although the need for support from Indian Socialists and Communists forestalled further privatisation for some time.[146][147]
By the end of 2004, India began to withdraw some of its troops from Kashmir. By the middle of the next year, theSrinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus service was inaugurated, the first in 60 years to operate between Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered Kashmirs. However, in May 2006, suspected Islamic extremist militants killed 35 Hindus in the worst attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir for several months.[110]
The2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami devastated Indian coastlines and islands, killing an estimated 18,000 and displacing around 650,000. The tsunami was caused by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast. Natural disasters such as theMumbai floods (killing more than 1,000) andKashmir earthquake (killing 79,000) hit the subcontinent in the next year. In February 2006, theUnited Progressive Alliance government launched India's largest-ever rural jobs scheme, aimed at lifting around 60 million families out of poverty.[110]
The United States and India signed amajor nuclear co-operation agreement during a visit by United States PresidentGeorge W. Bush in March 2006. According to the nuclear deal, the United States was to give India access to civilian nuclear technology while India agreed to greater scrutiny for its nuclear programme. Later, United States approved a controversial law allowing India to buy their nuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in 30 years. In July 2008, the United Progressive Alliance survived avote of confidence brought after left-wing parties withdrew their support over the nuclear deal. After the vote, several left-wing and regional parties formed a new alliance to oppose the government, saying it had been tainted by corruption. Within three months, following approval by theU.S. Congress, George W. Bush signed into law a nuclear deal with India, which ended a three-decade ban on American nuclear trade with Delhi.[110]
In 2007, India got its first female President asPratibha Patil was sworn in. Long associated with theNehru–Gandhi family, Pratibha Patil was a low-profile governor of the state ofRajasthan before emerging as the favoured presidential candidate ofSonia Gandhi.[148] In February, the infamousSamjhauta Express bombings took place, killing Pakistani civilians inPanipat, Haryana. As of 2011, nobody had been charged for the crime, though it has been linked toAbhinav Bharat, a shadowy Hindu fundamentalist group headed by a former Indian army officer.[149]
In 2008 October, India successfully launched its first mission to the Moon, the uncrewedlunar probe calledChandrayaan-1. In the previous year, India had launched its first commercialspace rocket, carrying an Italiansatellite.[110]
On 26 November 2008,Mumbai attacks took place. India blamedLashkar-e-Taiba militants from Pakistan for the attacks and announced a "pause" in the ongoing peace process.[110]
In July 2009, theDelhi High Court decriminalised consensual homosexual sex, re-interpreting the British Raj-era law,Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, as unconstitutional in regard to criminalising consensual sex between two homosexual adults or decriminalising such acts between adult heterosexuals or other consenting adults, that may be deemed unnatural.[150][151]
In theIndian general election in 2009, theUnited Progressive Alliance won a convincing and resounding 262 seats, with Congress alone winning 206 seats. However, the Congress-led government faced many allegations of corruption. Inflation rose to an all-time high, and the ever-increasing prices of food commodities caused widespread agitation.
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On 8 November 2009, in spite of strong protests by China, which claims the whole ofArunachal Pradesh as its own,[153] the14th Dalai Lama visitedTawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh,which was a monumental event to the people of the region, and the abbot of the monastery greeted him with much fanfare and adulation.[154]
21st-century India is facing theNaxalite–Maoist rebels, in the words of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India's "greatest internal security challenge",[155] and other terrorist tensions (such as Islamist terrorist campaigns in and out ofJammu & Kashmir andterrorism in India's Northeast).[155][156] Terrorism has increased in India, with bomb blasts in leading cities likeMumbai, New Delhi,Jaipur,Bangalore, andHyderabad.[143] In the new millennium, India improved relations with many countries and foreign unions including the United States, theEuropean Union, Israel, and the People's Republic of China.[110] Theeconomy of India has grown at a very rapid pace. India was now being looked at as apotential superpower.[146][147]
Theconcerns and controversies over the 2010 Commonwealth Games rocked the country in 2010, raising questions about the credibility of the government followed by the2G spectrum case andAdarsh Housing Society scam. In mid-2011,Anna Hazare, a prominent social activist,staged a 12-day hunger strike in Delhi in protest at state corruption, after government proposals to tighten upanti-graft legislation fell short of his demands.[110]
In June 2010,violent unrest broke out inKashmir over the fake encounter killing ofthree Kashmiri people by security forces suspected to be Pakistani terrorists along theLine of Control.
Despite all this, India showed great promise with a higher growth rate in gross domestic product.[157] In January 2011, India assumed a nonpermanent seat in theUnited Nations Security Council for the 2011–12 term. In 2004, India had launched an application for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan. In March, India overtook China to become the world's largest importer of arms.[110]
TheTelangana movement reached its peak in 2011–12, leading to formation of India's 29th state,Telangana, in June 2014.
In August 2010, cloudbursts and the ensuingflooding in theLadakh region of North India resulted in the deaths of around 255 people, while affecting 9,000 people directly.[159] In June 2013, amulti-day cloudburst in Uttarakhand and other north Indian states caused devastating floods and landslides, with more than 5,700 people "presumed dead."[160] In September 2014,floods in the state ofJammu and Kashmir, following heavy rains due tomonsoon season, killed around 277 people and brought extensive damage to property.[161] A further 280 people died in the neighbouring Pakistani regions, particularly inPakistani Punjab.[162]
A series of border skirmishes broke out betweenIndia andPakistan along theLine of Control in the years2011,2013,2014,2015 whereIndia accusedPakistan of ceasefire violations.
The2012 Delhi gang rape & murder case on 16 December 2012 led to subsequent protests which resulted inchanges in the laws related to rape and offences against women. In April 2013, theSaradha Group scandal was unearthed, caused by the collapse of aPonzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies inEastern India, causing an estimated loss of INR 200–300 billion (US$4–6 billion) to over 1.7 million depositors.[163][164][165] In December 2013, theSupreme Court of India overturned the Delhi High Court ruling on Sec 377, criminalising homosexual sex between consenting adults once again in the country.[166][167]
In August – September 2013,clashes between Hindus and Muslims inMuzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, resulted in at least 62 deaths,[168] injured 93, and left more than 50,000 displaced.[169][170][171][172]
In November 2013, India launched its first interplanetary mission, theMars Orbiter Mission, popularly known asMangalyaan, to Mars and, was successful, soISRO on 24 September 2014, became the fourthspace agency to reach Mars, after theSoviet space program,NASA, and theEuropean Space Agency.[173] ISRO also became the first space agency and India the first country to reach Mars on its maiden attempt.
TheHindutva movement advocatingHindu nationalism originated in the 1920s and has remained a strong political force in India. The major party of the religious right since the 1950s had been theBharatiya Jana Sangh. The Jana Sangh joined the Janata party in 1977 but when that party fell apart in a short period of three years, the erstwhile members of Jana Sangh in 1980 formed theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP grew its support base in the following decades and is now the most dominant political party in India. In September 2013 theChief Minister ofGujarat,Narendra Modi, was named theBJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the2014 Lok Sabha election.[174][175] Several BJP leaders initially expressed opposition to Modi's candidature,[176] including BJP founding memberL. K. Advani.[177] Contrary to the strategies used by the party during previous elections, Modi played the dominant role in the BJP's presidential style election campaign.[178][179][174][180][181][176][182][183] The 16th national general election, held in early 2014, saw alandslide victory for theBJP ledNDA; the alliance gained a landslide victory andformed a government under the premiership ofModi. The Modi government's landslide victory in the2014 Lok Sabha election and popularity helped the BJP win several state assembly elections in India. The Modi government implemented several initiatives and campaigns to increase manufacturing and infrastructure – notably —Make in India,Digital India and theSwachh Bharat Mission.
On 18 September 2016, aterrorist attack took place in anIndian Army base inUri, Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 soldiers and 4 militants behind the attack.[184] It took place at a time when theKashmir Valley was facing extremely high levels ofviolent unrest after the killing ofBurhan Wani by security forces on 8 July 2016.[185]
On 29 September 2016, in response to theUri attack, teams of Indian ArmyPara (Special Forces) conductedsurgical strikes along theLine of Control inPakistan occupied Kashmir on terrorist hideouts.[186] This led to the start ofborder skirmishes between India and Pakistan along theLine of Control.
In April 2017, during the2017 Srinagar by-election ahuman shield incident took place involving a 26 year old man Farooq Ahmed Dar being tied in front of anIndian Army jeep and MajorLeetul Gogoi of theIndian Army sparked outrage and debate onhuman rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.[187][188][189]
The largest tax reform in India's history, theGoods and Services Tax (GST), was introduced in 2017. On 20 July 2018, theNarendra Modi ledNDA government won the first no confidence motion moved by theTelugu Desam Party over the non-allocation of funds to the state ofAndhra Pradesh.[190][191] In August 2018, a series offlash floods took place in the state ofKerala which killed more than 483 people and displaced more than one million people.[192][193] On 14 February 2019, a vehicle-borne suicide bomber assaulted a convoy of cars carryingCentral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops on theJammu-Srinagar National Highway in thePulwama area ofJammu and Kashmir.[194]
On 26 February 2019, India carried out the2019 Balakot airstrike when its airplanes flew across thede facto border inKashmir and dropped bombs in the town of Balakot in Pakistan'sKhyber Pakhtunkhwa region.[195] This led toviolent border skirmishes between India and Pakistan along theLine of Control. After a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter pilots.Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian wing commander, was taken prisoner by the Pakistani side. Acting nonetheless under pressure from various world leaders and constrained by theVienna Convention, Pakistan was compelled to free the Indian pilot.[196]
General elections were held between 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 in seven phases to elect members of the17th Lok Sabha. The BJP led NDA alliance won a landslide victory with 353 seats(BJP 303 seats) withNarendra Modi taking oath as thePrime Minister of India for the second time.[197]
By repealingArticle 370 of the Indian Constitution on 5 August 2019, thestate of Jammu and Kashmir was separated into two separateunion territories known asJammu and Kashmir andLadakh.[198] The bill came into effect as a law on 31 October 2019. After the cancellation ofArticle 370, millions of people in Jammu and Kashmir didn't have communication with the outside world as the state remained under acomplete lockdown until February 2021. On 9 November 2019, theSupreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgement by ruling in favour of theHindus in theRam Janmabhoomi Temple.[199][200][201] TheParliament of India passed theCitizenship Amendment Act on 11 December 2019, sparking widespreadprotests.[202]
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![Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is intended as a launch vehicle for crewed missions under the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme announced in Prime Minister Modi's 2018 Independence Day speech.[203]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGSLV_Mk_III_Lift_Off_1.jpg)
In February 2020,riots broke out in Delhi.[204] TheCitizenship Amendment Act protests have been described as an instigating factor.[205] Tensions escalated on the Indo-China border afteraggressive skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops beginning on 5 May 2020.[206] TheRama Janmabhoomi temple construction officially started after a Bhoomi Poojan (Hindu ground breaking) ceremony by Prime Minister Modi on 5 August 2020.[207][208]Farm reform laws which subsequently became quite controversial were passed with less than three hours of debate in either house in September 2020.[209]
In November 2020, a series ofborder skirmishes broke out betweenIndia andPakistan along theLine of Control which killed at least 22 people including 11 civilians.[210][211] The fight ended on 25 February 2021 with a ceasefire agreement.[212]
After a year longprotests by farmers, Prime minister Modi in November 2021 repealed the laws in three minutes in theLok Sabha and nine minutes in theRajya Sabha without debate.[213]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic in India began on 30 January 2020, when the first case was reported inThrissur.[214] Two months later in March 2020, prime minister Modi imposed acomplete lockdown in the country at four hours notice to stop the spread ofCOVID-19. This led to millions losing their jobs and many lost their lives. The Indian economy also shrunk in percentage terms by double digit numbers. In September 2020, India's health ministerHarsh Vardhan stated that the country planned to approve and begin distribution of a vaccine by the first quarter of 2021.[215] Vaccination against COVID-19 started in India on 16 January 2021. By early April 2021, second wave of infections took hold in the country with destructive consequences.[216] According to Christopher Clary, assistant professor of political science at the State University of New York, technocratic competence had been entirely missing from government's response to the second wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic in India.[217] The second wave placed a major strain on the healthcare system,[218] including shortage of liquidmedical oxygen. The number of new cases had begun to steadily drop by late-May and vaccination gained momentum again. India administered 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine on 21 October 2021.[219] Although official number of Covid related deaths in India during the pandemic is less than half a million,excess mortality rates for all causes has been estimated at between 3 and 5 million deaths.[220]
In June 2022, violent protests erupted throughout the country against theagniveer scheme introduced by theMinistry of Defence (India).[221][222] On 25 July 2022,Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India's new president, becoming India's first tribal president. Although largely ceremonial post, Murmu's election as tribal woman was historic.[223] India celebrated 75 years of its independence from theBritish Empire on 15 August 2022.[224] On 24 March 2023,Rahul Gandhi, the official opposition leader of India wasdisqualified as a member of theLok Sabha after he was found guilty in adefamation case filed byBJPMLA ,Purnesh Modi. This led to protests as the oppositionIndian National Congress called it a black day of democracy due todemocratic backsliding inModi's tenure.[225][226] The defamation case was stayed by theSupreme Court of India on 7 August 2023.[227][228] In April 2023, India surpassedChina to become the most populous country on the earth with a population of over 1.425 billion. On 3 May 2023,ethnic violence broke out in the state ofManipur between theMeitei and theKuki people.[229][230] TheNew Parliament House was inaugurated byPrime Minister,Narendra Modi on 28 May 2023 amid opposition boycott.[231][232] On 24 June 2023,Pakistan accusedIndia of aceasefire violation along theLine of Control whenIndian Army fired in the Sattwal sector ofPoonch District, Pakistan killing two shepherds and injuring one.[233][234] International outrage resulted on 20 July 2023 when a video of two women being paraded naked on the streets ofManipur during theManipur violence and were stripped andgang-raped by a heavily armed mob.[235][236] On 10 August 2023, theNarendra Modi ledNDA government won a second no confidence motion moved by theINDIA Alliance after a opposition walkout from theLok Sabha in response to theManipur violence.[237][238] India was selected as the host for the2023 G20 New Delhi summit at the International Exhibition Convention Centre,Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 9 to 10 September 2023.[239]Chandrayaan-3, a lunar lander developed and launched byISRO landed on the Moon on 23 August 2023, thus making India the 4th country to land on the Moon after the Soviet Union, China, and United States.[240] On 21 September 2023, theParliament of India passed the historicWomen's Reservation Bill which reserved one third of the seats in theLok Sabha and otherState legislative assemblies of India for women.[241][242]
On 13 December 2023, asecurity breach took place in theIndian Parliament where two individuals entered theLok Sabha chamber from the public gallery. One of the individuals jumped onto the tables where theMembers of Parliament (MPs) were seated and released a yellow-colored smoke canister. The other individual allegedly chanted slogans. This caused chaos and panic within the house, leading to the immediate adjournment of the session. Two other individuals were detained outside the building.[243] On 19 December 2023, a record 141 oppositionmembers of parliament(MPs) (95 fromLok Sabha and 46 fromRajya Sabha) were suspended from theParliament of India due to ruckus and unparliamentary behaviour over the2023 Indian Parliament breach.[244] The opposition called this as a "murder of democracy" and accused the government of reducing the parliament to a rubber stamp.[245]
Three new criminal laws named theBharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, theBharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and theBharatiya Sakshya Act, 2023 which aimed to replace the colonial criminal laws, theIndian Penal Code were passed in theParliament of India without proper debate after a mass suspension of oppositionmembers of parliament in December 2023 following the2023 Indian Parliament breach.[246] It came into effect as a law on 1 July 2024.[247]
On 22 January 2024, theRam Mandir Pran Pratishtha inaugration took place inAyodhya,Uttar Pradesh under the presence ofPrime Minister,Narendra Modi.[248]
On 15 February 2024, theSupreme Court of India in a landmark judgement declared theelectoral bonds scheme which was introduced by theNarendra Modi government in 2018 which is used as a political funding source for political parties ofIndia as unconstitutional which violatesArticle 19 of theConstitution of India.[249][250]
General elections were held in India from 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases to elect the members of18th Lok Sabha. The BJP won 240 seats, down from 303 seats it had secured in 2019, and lost its singular majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi confirmed the support of 293 NDA MPs to President Draupadi Murmu, which marked Modi's third term as prime minister and his first time heading a coalition government, with theTelugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh andJanata Dal (United) of Bihar emerging as two main allies.[251]
In July 2024, a series oflandslides broke out inWayanad district,Kerala which killed atleast 231 people and injured atleast 397 people.[252][253]
In August 2024, massive protests erupted throughout the country after therape andmurder of a31 year old female post-graduate trainee doctor atR. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital inKolkata.[254][255]
TheParliament of India passed theWaqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 on 5 April 2025 which sparked protests throughout the country and violent clashes inMurshidabad,West Bengal.[256][257][258]
On 22 April 2025, aterrorist attack took place inBaisaran Valley,Jammu and Kashmir which killed 26 civilians and thereby severely affectedIndia Pakistan relations.[259] In response to the attack, India suspended theIndus Waters Treaty,Simla Agreement, expelled Pakistani diplomats and called back it's diplomats, suspended visas, closed borders with Pakistan and ordered the deportation of Pakistani nationals in India.[260]
In retaliation, theIndian Army and theIndian Air Force launched surgical strikes codenamedOperation Sindoor at terrorist hideouts in Pakistan on 7 May 2025 in response to thePahalgam attack.[261] A 4 day long battle lasted between India and Pakistan which ended with a ceasefire on 10 May 2025.[262]
On 21 July 2025,Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as theVice President of India due to health reasons. He is the firstVice President in independent India's history whose resignation triggered amidterm vice presidential election.[263]
In August 2025,Rahul Gandhi, theLeader of the Opposition in theLok Sabha accused theElection Commission of India of asystemic voter list fraud('vote chori') in connivance to theBJP in multiple elections.[264]
On 3 September 2025, theIndian Government announcedGST reforms by reducing GST on many Indian goods to increase consumption and avoid the impact ofTrump's tariffs on theIndian Economy.[265]GST 2.0 rates were standardized, with uniform rates across the country namely 0% and 5% rate for Essential Goods & Services, 18% Standard rate, 40% rate for Luxury and Sin Goods which will be bought effective from 22 September 2025.[266] With this change, the GST Structure was simplified with elimination of 12% and 28% GST rate slabs.
On 9 September 2025,C. P. Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15thVice President of India.[267] He took his oath of office on 12 September 2025.[268]
The economic history of the India since 1947 can be divided into two epochs:1.1947-91 which saw heavy government involvement in the economy, and a slow growth rate in GDP2.1991–present which saw deregulation and a rapid growth in GDP, and reduction in poverty.
Indianeconomic policy after independence was influenced by the colonial experience, which was seen as exploitative by Indian leaders exposed to British social democracy and the plannedeconomy of the Soviet Union.[269] Domestic policy tended towards protectionism, with a strong emphasis onimport substitution industrialisation,economic interventionism, a large government-runpublic sector,business regulation, andcentral planning,[270] while trade and foreign investment policies were relatively liberal.[271]Five-Year Plans of India resembled central planning in theSoviet Union. Steel, mining, machine tools, telecommunications, insurance, and power plants, among other industries, were effectively nationalised in the mid-1950s.[272] The Indian economy of this period is characterised asDirigism.[100][273]
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Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, along with the statisticianPrasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, formulated and oversaw economic policy during the initial years of the country's independence. They expected favourable outcomes from their strategy, involving the rapid development ofheavy industry by both public andprivate sectors, and based on direct and indirect state intervention, rather than the more extremeSoviet-style central command system.[276][277][278] The policy of concentrating simultaneously on capital- and technology-intensive heavy industry and subsidising manual, low-skillcottage industries was criticised by economistMilton Friedman, who thought it would waste capital and labour, and retard the development of small manufacturers.[279]
Since 1965, the use ofhigh-yielding varieties of seeds, increasedfertilisers and improvedirrigation facilities collectively contributed to theGreen Revolution in India, which improved the condition of agriculture by increasing crop productivity, improving crop patterns and strengthening forward and backward linkages between agriculture and industry.[280] However, it has also been criticised as an unsustainable effort, resulting in the growth of capitalistic farming, ignoring institutional reforms and widening income disparities.[281]
In 1984,Rajiv Gandhi promisedeconomic liberalization, he madeV. P. Singh the finance minister, who tried to reduce tax evasion and tax receipts rose due to this crackdown although taxes were lowered. This process lost its momentum during the later tenure of Mr. Gandhi as his government was marred by scandals.
The collapse of the Soviet Union, which was India's major trading partner, and theGulf War, which caused a spike in oil prices, resulted in a major balance-of-payments crisis for India, which found itself facing the prospect of defaulting on its loans.[282] India asked for a $1.8 billion bailout loan from theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), which in return demanded de-regulation.[283]
In response, theNarasimha Rao government, including Finance MinisterManmohan Singh, initiatedeconomic reforms in 1991. The reforms did away with theLicence Raj, reduced tariffs and interest rates and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval offoreign direct investment in many sectors.[284] Since then, the overall thrust of liberalisation has remained unchanged since 1991, although no government had tried taking on powerful lobbies such as trade unions and farmers and on contentious issues such as reforming labour laws and reducingagricultural subsidies.[285] By the turn of the 21st century, India had progressed towards a free-market economy, with a substantial reduction in state control of the economy and increased financial liberalisation.[286] This has been accompanied by increases in life expectancy, literacy rates, and food security, although urban residents have benefited more than rural residents.[287]
In the second decade of this century, theeconomy of India rose from the ninth-largest to the fifth-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, surpassing theUK,France,Italy andBrazil.[288] The economy had started to slow down in the second term of Manmohan Singh's tenure but started a recovery in 2013–14 when the GDP growth rate accelerated to 6.4% from the previous year's 5.5%. The acceleration continued through 2014–15 and 2015–16 with growth rates of 7.5% and 8.0% respectively in the early early years under Narendra Modi's first term. However the growth rate subsequently decelerated, to 7.1% and 6.6% in 2016–17 and 2017–18 respectively,[289] partly because of the disruptive effects of2016 Indian banknote demonetisation and theGoods and Services Tax (India).[290]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, numerousrating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures,[291][292] signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979.[293][294] The Indian Economy contracted by 6.6 percent which was lower than the estimated 7.3 percent decline.[295] In 2022, the ratings agencyFitch Ratings upgraded India's outlook to stable similar toS&P Global Ratings andMoody's Investors Service's outlooks.[296] In the first quarter of financial year 2022–2023, the Indian economy grew by 13.5%.[297]
The partition of South Asia that produced India and West and East Pakistan resulted from years of bitter negotiations and recriminations ... The departing British also decreed that the hundreds of princes, who ruled one-third of the subcontinent and a quarter of its population, became legally independent, their status to be settled later. Geographical location, personal and popular sentiment, and substantial pressure and incentives from the new governments led almost all princes eventually to merge their domains into either Pakistan or India. ... Each new government asserted its exclusive sovereignty within its borders, realigning all territories, animals, plants, minerals, and all other natural and human-made resources as either Pakistani or Indian property, to be used for its national development... Simultaneously, the central civil and military services and judiciary split roughly along religious 'communal' lines, even as they divided movable government assets according to a negotiated formula: 22.7 percent for Pakistan and 77.3 percent for India.
South Asians learned that the British Indian empire would be partitioned on 3 June 1947. They heard about it on the radio, from relations and friends, by reading newspapers and, later, through government pamphlets. Among a population of almost four hundred million, where the vast majority live in the countryside, ploughing the land as landless peasants or sharecroppers, it is hardly surprising that many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, did not hear the news for many weeks afterwards. For some, the butchery and forced relocation of the summer months of 1947 may have been the first that they knew about the creation of the two new states rising from the fragmentary and terminally weakened British empire in India
Joya Chatterji describes how the partition of the British Indian empire into the new nation states of India and Pakistan produced new diaspora on a vast, and hitherto unprecedented, scale, but hints that the sheer magnitude of refugee movements in South Asia after 1947 must be understood in the context of pre-existing migratory flows within the partitioned regions (see also Chatterji 2013). She also demonstrates that the new national states of India and Pakistan were quickly drawn into trying to stem this migration. As they put into place laws designed to restrict the return of partition emigrants, this produced new dilemmas for both new nations in their treatment of 'overseas Indians'; and many of them lost their right to return to their places of origin in the subcontinent, and also their claims to full citizenship in host countries.
The loss of life was immense, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand up to a million. But, even for those who survived, fear generated a widespread perception that one could be safe only among the members of one's own community; and this in turn helped consolidate loyalties towards the state, whether India or Pakistan, in which one might find a secure haven. This was especially important for Pakistan, where the succour it offered to Muslims gave that state for the first time a visible territorial reality. Fear too drove forward a mass migration unparalleled in the history of South Asia. Within a period of some three or four months in late 1947 a number of Hindus and Sikhs estimated at some 5 million moved from West Punjab into India, while 5.5 million Muslims travelled in the opposite direction. The outcome, akin to what today is called 'ethnic cleansing', produced an Indian Punjab 60 per cent Hindu and 35 per cent Sikh, while the Pakistan Punjab became almost wholly Muslim. A similar, though less extensive, migration took place between east and west Bengal, though murderous attacks on fleeing refugees, with the attendant loss of life, were much less extensive in the eastern region. Even those who did not move, if of the wrong community, often found themselves treated as though they were the enemy. In Delhi itself, the city's Muslims, cowering in an old fort, were for several months after partition regarded with intense suspicion and hostility. Overall, partition uprooted some 12.5 million of undivided India's people.
The sudden refugee flows related to Partition may at the time have been unsurpassed in modern world history. It is likely that at least 14–18 million people moved. Previous assessments of the mortality associated with Partition have varied between 200,000 and 1 million. The first figure, attributed to Mountbatten (the last Viceroy) smacks of a number that—conveniently from an official perspective—minimises the loss of life. However, the figure of 1 million may also be too low. The data, however, do not allow for a firmer judgement.
The Indian army defended Kashmir against Pakistani aggression.
The war for states had not only ended in Indian military victory but had given its leaders enormous self-confidence and satisfaction over a job well done.
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{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)India won, and gained two-thirds of Kashmir, which it successfully held against another Pakistani invasion in 1965.
the 1947 First Kashmir (won by India, according to MIDS classification)[permanent dead link]
Victor: India, Defeated: Pakistan
The Hindu Code Bill was visualised by Ambedkar and Nehru as the flagship of modernisation and a radical revision of Hindu law ... it is widely regarded as dramatic benchmark legislation giving Hindu women equitable if not superior entitlements as legal subjects.
One subject that particularly interested Nehru was the reform of Hindu law, particularly with regard to the rights of Hindu women...
It is our birthright to demand equitable adjustment of Hindu law....
rukhsana sultana .
