India Since Independence

Front Cover
Penguin Books India, 2008 - History - 771 pages
A Thorough And Incisive Introduction To Contemporary India
The Story Of The Forging Of India, The World'S Largest Democracy, Is A Rich And Inspiring One. This Volume, A Sequel To The Best-Selling India'S Struggle For Independence, Analyses The Challenges India Has Faced And The Successes It Has Achieved, In The Light Of Its Colonial Legacy And Century-Long Struggle For Freedom. The Book Describes How The Constitution Was Framed, As Also How The Nehruvian Political And Economic Agenda And Basics Of Foreign Policy Were Evolved And Developed. It Dwells On The Consolidation Of The Nation, Examining Contentious Issues Like Party Politics In The Centre And The States, The Punjab Problem, And Anti-Caste Politics And Untouchability. This Revised Edition Offers A Scathing Analysis Of The Growth Of Communalism In India And The Use Of State Power In Furthering Its Cause. It Also Documents The Fall Of The National Democratic Alliance In The 2004 General Elections, The United Progressive Alliance'S Subsequent Rise To Power And The Indo-Us Nuclear Deal That Served To Unravel The Political Consensus At The Centre.
Apart From Detailed Analyses Of Indian Economic Reforms Since 1991 And Wide-Ranging Land Reforms And The Green Revolution, This New Edition Includes An Overview Of The Indian Economy In The New Millennium.
These, Along With Objective Assessments Of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee And Manmohan Singh, Constitute A Remarkable Overview Of A Nation On The Move.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
The Colonial Legacy
11
The National Movement and its Legacy
24
The Evolution of the Constitution and
38
Basic Features
61
The Initial Years
86
Consolidation of India as a Nation I
106
The
125
Andhra Pradesh Assam
392
West Bengal and
407
The Punjab Crisis
423
The Nehruvian Legacy
442
Indian Economy 19651991
457
Economic Reforms Since 1991
475
The Indian Economy in the New Millennium
486
Colonial Impact and Legacy
508

Integration
135
Regionalism
151
The Years of Hope and Achievement 19511964
167
The Nehru Era
189
Jawaharlal Nehru in Historical Perspective
219
The Congress
235
The Opposition
252
From Shastri to Indira Gandhi 19641969
275
The Indira Gandhi Years 19691973
294
Indian
311
The Janata Interregnum and Indira Gandhis
331
The Rajiv Years
346
Runup to the New Millennium and After
361
Tamil Nadu
391
Zamindari Abolition and
523
Ceiling and the Bhoodan
537
Cooperatives and an Overview of Land Reforms
550
Agriculture Growth and the Green Revolution
571
Agrarian Struggles Since Independence
584
Revival and Growth of Communalism
599
Communalism and the Use of State Power
613
Caste Untouchability Anticaste Politics
631
The Postcolonial Indian State and the Political
655
Achievements
687
Notes
711
Select Bibliography
735
A Note on Style
757
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

Bipan Chandra, recipient of the Padma Bhushan, was born in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. He was educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore, and at Stanford University, California. He was Professor of Modern History at Jawaharlal Nehru-University (JNU), New Delhi, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. He was honoured as National Professor and was also the Chairperson of the National Book Trust. Professor Chandra authored several books on nationalism, colonialism, and communalism in modern India.

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