Study Material for Ba History History of India Since 1947 Semester
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STUDY MATERIAL FOR B.A HISTORY HISTORY OF INDIA SINCE 1947 SEMESTER - VI, ACADEMIC YEAR 2020 - 21 UNIT CONTENT PAGE Nr I POSITION OF INDIA ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE 02 II PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA 06 III RAJIV GANDHI 09 IV PEASANTS STRUGGLE 13 V DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION 21 Page 1 of 29 STUDY MATERIAL FOR B.A HISTORY HISTORY OF INDIA SINCE 1947 SEMESTER - VI, ACADEMIC YEAR 2020 - 21 UNIT – I POSITION OF INDIA ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE Position of India on the eve of Independence Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900–1979), India’s last British viceroy, reached India in March 1947. The British decided to make their final settlement of political power. The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947. India became independent at midnight on August 14, 1947. The transfer of power took place at Parliament House in New Delhi. The Problems of Partition Sir Cyril Radcliffe drew the boundaries that would separate India from East and West Pakistan. The boundaries were not announced until August 17, 1947. It was only then that the real impact of partition began to be felt, as majority communities on both sides of the border attacked, looted, raped, and murdered the remaining minorities. Within a month newspapers were reporting 4 million migrants on the move in northern India. More than 1 million people lost their lives in partition violence. The entire population of the Punjab was reshaped in the process. By March 1948 more than 10 million Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs had fled their former homes on either side of the border to become refugees within the other country. Integration of Indian States At the time of independence, Indian Territory was divided into three parts. First, the territories under the direct control of the British government second were the territories over which the hereditary rulers had suzerainty. The regions, which had been colonized by France and Portugal, formed the last. India, without the integration of these different territories under one roof, could not be considered as a unified country. Sardar Patel took charge of the states department in July 1947. The problem of consolidating 562 independent states with India was difficult and delicate. Patel appealed to the patriotic and national spirit of the Princes and invited them to join the forming of a democratic constitution in the national interest. He insisted them to handover defence, foreign affairs and communication to the government of India. By August 15, 1947 all except Hyderabad and Kashmir acceded to India. Nawab of Junagarh wanted to accede to Pakistan. When the people revolted, Patel intervened. Indian Government took over the administration. Patel amalgamated it with India by holding a plebiscite. Patel with an iron fisted hand subdued the Nizam. When the Nizam boasted anti-India feelings and let loose a blood both by the Razakars, Patel decided upon police action. He ordered the army to March into Hyderabad. The Nizam surrendered and Hyderabad was acceded to India. The state of Kashmir had strategic importance on account of its international boundaries and it is bordered on both India and Pakistan. Its ruler Hari Singh was a Hindu, while nearly 75 per cent of the population was Muslim. Hari Singh did not accede either to India or Pakistan. On 24 October, 1947, He appealed to India for military assistance against Pakistan. on 26 October, 1947, He acceded to India and also agreed to install Abdullah as head of the state's administration. States re – organisation Page 2 of 29 STUDY MATERIAL FOR B.A HISTORY HISTORY OF INDIA SINCE 1947 SEMESTER - VI, ACADEMIC YEAR 2020 - 21 The movement for linguistic states The Demand of states on linguistic basis was developed even before independence of India. Orissa Province was the first Indian state formed on linguistic basis on 1st April, 1936 due to the efforts of Madhusudan Das, Gajapati Krushna Chandra Dev, etc. In Odisha linguistic movement started in the year 1895 and intensified later years with the demand of separate province first from Bengal and then from Bihar. Need for Linguistic Reorganization of the States The need for linguistic states as administrative units was very strong. Language is closely related to culture and customs of people of India. Besides this the massive spread of education and growth of mass literacy can only happen through the medium of the mother tongue. Democracy can become real to the common people only when politics and administration are conducted through the language they can understand. But this language, the mother tongue cannot be the medium of education or administration or judicial activity unless a state is formed on the basis of such a predominant language. Urge for redistribution of provinces on linguistic basis With the involvement of the masses in the national movement after 1919, Congress undertook political mobilization in the mother tongue and in 1921 amended its constitution and reorganized its regional branches on a linguistic basis. Since then, the Congress repeatedly committed itself to the redrawing of the provincial boundaries on linguistic lines. Gandhiji argued that 'the redistribution of provinces on a linguistic basis was necessary if provincial languages were to grow to their full height.' It was therefore more or less universally assumed that free India would base its administrative boundaries on the linguistic principle. The reorganisation of the states based on language, a major aspect of national consolidation and integration, came to the fore almost immediately after independence. Dhar Committee In 1948, the government appointed a commission under S.K.Dhar, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, to examine the case for the reorganisation of states on the linguistic basis. The commission gave more importance to historical, geographical and economic considerations in the reorganisation of states. It favoured reorganisation on the basis of administrative convenience rather than linguistic considerations. JVP Committee The public opinion was not satisfied, especially in the South, and the problem remained politically alive. The Congress appointed a committee (JVP) in December 1948 consisting of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya, President of the Congress, to examine the question afresh. This committee advised against the creation of linguistic states for the time being, emphasizing on unity, national security, and economic development as the needs of the hour. Creation of Andhra Pradesh On 19 October 1952, a popular freedom fighter, Patti Sriramalu, undertook a fast unto death over the demand for a separate Andhra state and expired after fifty-eight days. His death was followed by three days of riots, demonstrations, hartals and violence took place in all over Andhra. The government immediately gave its assent for the creation of a separate state of Andhra, which finally came into existence in October 1953. Simultaneously, Tamil Nadu was created as a Tamil-speaking state. Page 3 of 29 STUDY MATERIAL FOR B.A HISTORY HISTORY OF INDIA SINCE 1947 SEMESTER - VI, ACADEMIC YEAR 2020 - 21 States Reorganisation Commission or Fazal Ali Commission In August 1953 the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was appointed with Justice Fazi Ali, K.M. Panikkar and Hridaynath Kunzru as members, to examine ‘objectively and dispassionately’ the entire question of the reorganization of the states of the union. Throughout the two years of its work, the Commission was faced with meetings, demonstrations, agitations and hunger strikes. The SRC submitted its report in October 1955. It recognized for the most part on the linguistic principle. It recommended redrawing of state boundaries on that basis. The Commission, however, opposed the splitting of Bombay and Punjab. Despite strong reaction to the report in many parts of the country, the SRC's recommendations were accepted, though with certain modifications, and were quickly implemented. The States Reorganization Act was passed by parliament in November 1956. It provided for fourteen states and six centrally administered territories. The Telengana area of Hyderabad state was transferred to Andhra; merging the Malabar district of the old Madras Presidency with Travancore-Cochin created Kerala. Certain Kannada-speaking areas of the states of Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad and Coorg were added to the Mysore state. Merging the states of Kutch and Saurashtra and the Marathi-speaking areas of Hyderabad with it enlarged Bombay state. The strongest reaction against the SRC's report and the States Reorganisation Act came from Maharashtra where widespread rioting broke out and eighty people were killed in Bombay city in police firings in January 1956. The opposition parties supported by a wide spectrum of public opinion—students, farmers, workers, artists, and business persons— organized a powerful protest movement. Under pressure, the government decided in June 1956 to divide the Bombay state into two linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat with Bombay city forming a separate, centrally administered state. This move too was strongly opposed by the Maharashtrians. Nehru was unhappy because the Maharashdrians were hurted, in July to the formation of bilingual, greater Bombay. This move was, however, opposed by the people both of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The broad-based Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad led the movements in the two parts of the state. In Maharashtra, even a large section of Congressmen joined the demand for a unilingual Maharashtra with Bombay as its capital; and C.D. Deshmukh, the Finance Minister in the Central Cabinet, resigned from his office on this question. The Gujarat is felt that they would be a minority in the new state. They too would not agree to give up Bombay city to Maharashtra. Violence and arson now spread to Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat. Sixteen persons were killed and 200 injured in police firings. In view of the disagreement over Bombay city, the government stuck to its decision and passed the States Reorganization Act in November 1956.