Challenges of Nation-Building — Notes

India became independent on 15 August 1947. The new nation faced three broad challenges:

1. Unity: shaping one nation from a society of many languages, faiths and regions, while respecting that diversity.
2. Democracy: governing through a Constitution with fundamental rights and universal adult franchise.
3. Development: improving the lives of all citizens, especially the poor; the Directive Principles of State Policy set out these goals.

All three had to be faced at once, in the shadow of Partition.

Partition followed the two-nation theory of the Muslim League: Muslim-majority areas were to form Pakistan.

Problems in drawing the boundary:

1. Muslim-majority areas were in two zones, so Pakistan had West and East wings (East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971).
2. Some Muslim-majority areas did not want Pakistan: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of the North-West Frontier Province opposed it, but the province went to Pakistan.
3. Punjab and Bengal had large non-Muslim populations, so they were divided.
4. Minorities were left on both sides of the new line.

• Forced migration: millions crossed the new border within months; estimates of the numbers displaced and killed vary widely.
• Violence: people of every community suffered; women were especially vulnerable; families were divided.
• Division of assets: property, offices, the railways and the armed forces were divided.
• Refugees: both governments had to provide shelter and livelihoods.
• Mahatma Gandhi worked for communal harmony in riot-hit areas; he was assassinated on 30 January 1948.

Secular choice: India did not adopt any state religion; citizenship and rights do not depend on faith, and minorities are full citizens.

There were about 565 princely states. When British paramountcy lapsed, rulers were legally free to join India or Pakistan or to stay independent.

Approach: the government held that the people of most states wanted to join India; it was firm on unity but flexible about local autonomy. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister) led the effort, assisted by V. P. Menon.

Instrument of Accession: rulers handed defence, external affairs and communications to the Union; nearly all signed before 15 August 1947.

• Junagadh: the ruler announced accession to Pakistan; a plebiscite in February 1948 confirmed the people's wish to join India.
• Hyderabad: the Nizam sought independence and signed a Standstill Agreement (November 1947); amid a peasant movement in Telangana and violence by the Razakars, the state joined India after police action in September 1948.
• Manipur: the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession; elections under universal adult franchise were held in 1948; the merger agreement of September 1949 was signed without consulting the elected assembly, leaving resentment.
• Kashmir: its ruler signed the Instrument of Accession in October 1947 (studied in Chapter 14).

The national movement had accepted linguistic provinces, but after Partition leaders were cautious, fearing separatism.

• Andhra: Potti Sriramulu died after a long fast in December 1952; Andhra State was formed in October 1953.
• States Reorganisation Commission (1953) → States Reorganisation Act, 1956: 14 states and 6 union territories, mainly on language.
• Later changes: Maharashtra and Gujarat (1960), Nagaland (1963), Punjab and Haryana (1966), Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (1972), Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh (1987), Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000), Telangana (2014).

Assessment: the fear of break-up proved unfounded. Linguistic states brought government closer to the people, widened participation, and showed that accepting diversity strengthens unity. New states are formed by Parliament under the Constitution.