Political developments

As India obtained Independence after a long struggle in 1947 and the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the famous “tryst with destiny” speech, path was laid for the world’s largest democracy to carve out its future. Nehru, who headed the first Congress government, has been described as the architect of the modern India. He started implementing the “mixed economy” model, also called the Nehruvian model, for providing a thrust to the economy. His government set about to build major hydro-electricity dams, improve road and railway infrastructure and encourage industrialisation while protecting the handloom and cottage industry. He is also credited with setting up five year Planning Commissions, providing stress on Research and development and for leading the Non Aligned Movement. The 1962 war with China, which led to a humiliating defeat for India, was a major setback for the Nehru government.

There was political vacuum after his death in 1964 which was filled for a brief period by Lal Bahadur Shastri. It was during the prime ministership of Shastri that the country went through its second major war – the first against Pakistan. It was more or less an even contest with India having a little upper hand. However, Shastri died suddenly at Tashkent shortly after he had signed a ceasefire declaration with his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan. It was then that Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi was elected Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party and became the prime minister in 1966.

Indira Gandhi ruled with an iron hand and took some important decisions like nationalisation of banks and abolition of privy purses of the princes who had joined the Indian Union after the Independence. However, she would be remembered for two other important events. The first one was helping in the formation of Bangladesh after encouraging and helping the movement for independence by the residents of the former East Pakistan and then leading a decisive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. The humiliating war for Pakistan led to the biggest ever surrender of armed forces personnel in world history in which over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were made Prisoners of War. Pakistan is not likely to ever forget the humiliation and India may still be paying a price for it.

The second major event for which she would be remembered, albeit in a negative manner, was the imposition of internal Emergency in 1975. It was imposed following wide spread protests against her government and the decision of the courts unseating her as an MP. It was one of the darkest hour of the Indian democracy when civil rights were taken away, thousands put into jails, political activity banned, censorship imposed on media and atrocities like forced sterilisation committed on common people. She lifted the emergency two years later in 1977 and was defeated in the elections which led to the formation of the first non-congress government in the country.

Senior leader Morarji Desai was elected the prime minister of the first Janata Government which had the blessings of the leader of the movement against the emergency, Jai Parkash Narain. However, the government could not last its full term and Indira Gandhi rode back to power in 1980. Her second tenure witnessed the most unfortunate Operation Bluestar in 1984 which resulted in her own assassination later that year followed by a massacre of Sikhs in some parts of the country, mainly in Delhi and was reportedly stoked by some Congress leaders, who are still roaming free.

After her assassination, her elder son Rajiv Gandhi was made the prime minister, the youngest to hold the office. His regime was marked by the Sri Lanka fiasco in which India sent troops to its neighbouring country, the birth of software and IT industry, and the infamous Bofors scandal but was marked by improved relations with the US an d increased international economic aid. However, Bofors scandal did him in and the second non-Congress government was formed under the leadership of V P Singh. The Janata Dal government, mainly remembered for implementing Mandal Commission report on reservations in government jobs, also did not last too long and was followed by a period of political uncertainty. Following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 during the run up to the elections, the country again elected a Congress government led by PV Narasimha Rao. His government was known for initiating economic reforms led by his finance minister Manmohan Singh. His regime also saw the demolition of Babri Masjid and riots following its demolition in 1992.

BJP emerged as the single largest party in 1996 but the government under Atal Behari Vajpayee pasted just 13 days when the rug was pulled from under the carpet of his minority government. During the politically unstable period, the United Front was formed which had two prime ministers in quick succession – HD Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral till 1998 when Vajpayee returned to head the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP.

His regime was known for historic bus ride to Pakistan, the Kargil battle, Golden Quadrilateral highway project, attack on Indian Parliament and the Gujarat riots under the watch of the current prime minister Narendra Modi.

The 2004 elections saw re-emergence of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance which ruled the country under Manmohan Singh for the next 10 years. He was known as the nominee of Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi. The regime saw the introduction of the historic Right to Information (RTI), the Food Bill and the new Land Acquisition Bill besides signing of a major Nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. However, the second tenure of the Manmohan Singh government was engulfed in major scams like the coal scam, the 2G spectrum scam, CWG scam, Adarsh scam etc., which led to its down fall in 2015 and emergence of Modi as the new prime minister after he helped get the BJP a clear majority for the first time since Independence.

Future Prospects

India on currently on the threshold of a giant leap with one of its biggest strengths which was its biggest problem at one stage – its population. The country, which launched a major campaign to curb population and even resorted to forced sterilisation during the Emergency, now boasts of the youngest population in the world. Over 65 per cent of the country’s population is now below 35 years of age and almost 50 per cent is below 25 years of age. This gives India the distinction of the youngest nation with huge youth resources at its command. This advantage comes at a time when the population in most of the developed countries is growing older and in several countries the vast majority of their population is greying fast and number of those above the age of 65 are more than those below 25 years of age.

Yet India has to work hard in several fields to make the grade. Gender equality is one of those major areas. India currently has a sex ratio of 933, i.e. 933 females per 1000 males, which is among the lowest in the world. The US, for instance, has a sex ratio of 1029, which is 29 more females than males per thousand. In fact the sex ratio has declined from 946 in 1951 to 933 in 2011. Also less than 20 per cent of the educated females in the country are employed. The females constitute a huge human resource which remains grossly under-utilised. The United Nations Development Programmes’s Human Development index ranked India at 132 number out of 167 countries on its gender inequality index in 2013. Also, the poor standard of education, lack of discipline in public life and perhaps one of the most important factor of all – corruption at almost all levels – is what is dragging the country down.

Despite the shortcomings and the areas where it needs to improve, the country is better placed to propel itself to the next level. Its human resources, together with the strides in the field of Information Technology, literacy, entrepreneurship and a ballooning middle class with its huge potential for consumerism, are its great strengths. All it requires is leadership with vision which can rise above the party, communal and other narrow considerations.