Post-Independence India (1947–2000) — TNPSC Group 1 Notes

Partition and Independence (1947)

Mountbatten Plan and Partition

August 14–15, 1947: India and Pakistan became independent under the Indian Independence Act, 1947 (British Parliament).

Partition consequences:

• One of history's largest forced migrations: 10–12 million people displaced across Punjab and Bengal
• Communal violence: estimated 200,000–2 million deaths
• Radcliffe Line drew the boundary — Sir Cyril Radcliffe (who had never visited India) demarcated the border in 6 weeks

Integration of Princely States

565 princely states had to join India or Pakistan. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Deputy PM and Home Minister) — "Iron Man of India" — handled integration:

• Most signed Instrument of Accession by August 15, 1947
• Hyderabad: Operation Polo (September 1948) — police action after Nizam refused; Hyderabad merged
• Junagadh: Nawab acceded to Pakistan despite Hindu-majority population; India took over after plebiscite
• Kashmir: Maharaja Hari Singh signed Instrument of Accession (October 26, 1947) after Pakistani tribal militias invaded; Article 370 gave special status

Constituent Assembly and Constitution

• Constituent Assembly: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman, Drafting Committee
• Constitution adopted: November 26, 1949; enacted: January 26, 1950 — Republic Day
• Rajendra Prasad: India's first President

Nehru Era (1947–1964)

Domestic Policies

Economic model:

• Mixed economy — public sector for key industries; private sector for consumer goods
• Planning Commission (1950) — PC Mahalanobis model; Soviet-influenced but democratic
• Industrial Policy Resolution 1956 — classified industries into Schedule A (state monopoly), B (mixed), C (private)

Key developments:

• Community Development Programme (1952): Rural development through block development offices
• Bank nationalisation: RBI nationalised 1949; 14 major banks nationalised 1969 (Indira Gandhi)
• Land reforms: Zamindari abolition (state level, 1950s); Land ceiling acts; tenancy reforms — uneven implementation
• Green Revolution: HYV seeds introduced mid-1960s under M.S. Swaminathan; wheat production tripled in Punjab/Haryana
• White Revolution: Operation Flood, AMUL model under Verghese Kurien (launched 1970)

State reorganisation:

• States Reorganisation Act 1956 — reorganised states on linguistic basis after Fazl Ali Commission report
• Andhra Pradesh created 1956 (first linguistic state; Potti Sriramulu died fasting for Telugu state — 1952)
• Tamil Nadu: Madras State renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969

Foreign Policy — Non-Alignment

Nehru's foreign policy pillars: 1. Panchsheel (Five Principles, 1954): Signed with China — mutual respect, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, peaceful coexistence 2. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): Bandung Conference (1955) — Nehru, Tito (Yugoslavia), Nasser (Egypt), Sukarno (Indonesia), Nkrumah (Ghana); formal NAM founded Belgrade 1961 3. Commonwealth membership — remained in Commonwealth as republic

Wars:

• 1962 Sino-Indian War: China attacked; India lost Aksai Chin; Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon resigned; Nehru's "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai" policy collapsed
• 1965 India-Pakistan War: Kashmir dispute; Tashkent Agreement (1966) — PM Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent same night

Indira Gandhi Era — First Phase (1966–1977)

Key Events

Garibi Hatao (1971):

• Election slogan; won massive mandate (1971 elections)
• Major bank nationalisation — 14 banks (1969)
• Privy purses abolished (26th Amendment, 1971) — former princely rulers lost annual allowances

Bangladesh Liberation War (1971):

• East Pakistan demanded autonomy; Pakistani military crackdown (Operation Searchlight, March 1971)
• India intervened December 3, 1971 — 13-day war; Pakistan surrendered December 16 — Bangladesh created
• Simla Agreement (1972): India and Pakistan agreed on bilateral resolution of disputes; LoC in Kashmir formalised

Pokhran I — Smiling Buddha (1974):

• India's first nuclear test (May 18, 1974) at Pokhran, Rajasthan
• India declared itself a nuclear power; described officially as "peaceful nuclear explosion"

Emergency (1975–1977)

JP Movement: Jayaprakash Narayan led "Total Revolution" movement demanding Indira Gandhi's resignation. Mass arrests of opposition leaders followed Emergency declaration.

42nd Amendment (1976) — "Mini-Constitution":

• Added "socialist" and "secular" to Preamble
• Added "integrity" to Preamble
• Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) added
• Extended Lok Sabha and state assembly terms to 6 years
• Curtailed judicial review

Aftermath:

• Janata Party coalition won 1977 elections — India's first non-Congress central government
• Morarji Desai became PM
• 44th Amendment (1978): Reversed most 42nd Amendment changes; Right to Property removed from Fundamental Rights and made a legal right (Article 300A); "Armed rebellion" replaced "internal disturbance" in Article 352

Janata Party Era (1977–1979) and Return of Indira Gandhi (1980–1984)

• Janata Party: coalition of Congress(O), BLD, Jan Sangh, Socialist Party — broke apart within 2 years
• Indira Gandhi returned to power (1980) with massive mandate
• Operation Blue Star (June 1984): Army entered Golden Temple (Amritsar) to flush out Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale — controversial; damaged Sikh-Hindu relations
• Indira Gandhi assassinated: October 31, 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards
• 1984 Delhi anti-Sikh riots: 3,000+ killed in days following assassination

Rajiv Gandhi Era (1984–1989)

• Youngest PM; won massive mandate after sympathy wave (1984 elections, Congress 404/543 seats)
• Technology and modernisation focus: Sam Pitroda's telecom revolution; C-DOT; computerisation of railways and banking
• Bofors scandal: Artillery deal corruption allegation; contributed to 1989 election defeat
• Shah Bano case (1985): Supreme Court upheld Muslim woman's right to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC; Rajiv Gandhi reversed it through Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 — accused of appeasement; then unlocked Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya to counter — both decisions controversial
• Rajiv Gandhi assassinated: May 21, 1991 by LTTE suicide bomber during election campaign in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu

V.P. Singh, Chandrashekhar, and the Coalition Era (1989–1991)

• V.P. Singh government (1989–90): Mandal Commission implementation — 27% OBC reservation in central government services; massive protests; led to fall of government
• Mandal Commission (B.P. Mandal, 1980): Recommended 27% reservation for OBCs; implemented 1990
• L.K. Advani's Rath Yatra (1990): Mobilisation for Ram Temple; arrested in Bihar by Lalu Prasad; BJP withdrew support; V.P. Singh fell

Narasimha Rao Era (1991–1996) — Economic Reforms

1991 Balance of Payments Crisis

• Foreign exchange reserves: only 2 weeks of imports (June 1991)
• India pledged 67 tonnes of gold to Bank of England and Bank of Japan as collateral
• IMF conditional loan obtained

LPG Reforms

Key architects: PM P.V. Narasimha Rao (political will), FM Manmohan Singh (design), advisor Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Impact:

• GDP growth accelerated from ~3.5% (Hindu rate of growth) to 6%+ by mid-1990s
• Bombay Stock Exchange liberalised; FIIs allowed
• IT sector emergence — NASSCOM, Infosys, Wipro, TCS grew through 1990s
• Telecom revolution: mobile services, software parks

Other Events (1991–1996)

• Babri Masjid demolition (December 6, 1992): Mob demolished 16th century mosque in Ayodhya; communal riots across India; 2,000+ killed
• Bombay blasts (March 1993): 13 coordinated bombings; 257 killed; linked to D-company and ISI
• Pokhran II — Operation Shakti (May 1998): Five nuclear tests under PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee; India declared itself a nuclear weapon state; US/international sanctions followed; Pakistan responded with its own tests

Coalition Era and Vajpayee Government (1996–2004)

• 1996–1999: United Front governments — H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral — unstable coalitions
• Kargil War (1999): Pakistan infiltrated Kargil heights; India pushed back in high-altitude war; diplomatic isolation of Pakistan; Vajpayee's Lahore Bus Diplomacy followed by Kargil — complex bilateral dynamic
• Vajpayee government (1999–2004): NDA coalition; National Highway Development Programme (Golden Quadrilateral); IT and telecom growth; Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan; POTA (anti-terror law post-Parliament attack 2001)

Tamil Nadu in Post-Independence Period

Board Exam Tips

• Partition: Mountbatten Plan; Radcliffe Line; Sardar Patel integrated 565 princely states.
• Nehru: Planning Commission (1950); Panchsheel (1954); NAM co-founder (Bandung 1955); 1962 China war.
• 1965 War: Tashkent Agreement; Shastri died same night.
• 1971: Bangladesh Liberation War; Simla Agreement; 13-day war.
• Pokhran I (1974): Smiling Buddha; Pokhran II (1998): Operation Shakti, 5 tests.
• Emergency: June 25, 1975 – March 21, 1977; Article 352; 42nd Amendment; Janata Party won 1977.
• 1991 Reforms: BoP crisis; gold pledged; LPG reforms; Narasimha Rao + Manmohan Singh.
• Mandal Commission: 27% OBC reservation, implemented 1990 by V.P. Singh.
• Babri Masjid demolition: December 6, 1992.
• Kargil War: 1999; India recaptured Kargil heights.
• Tamil Nadu: Anti-Hindi agitation 1965; DMK first won 1967; MGR noon meal scheme 1982; Rajiv Gandhi assassination at Sriperumbudur 1991.