While freedom brought joy to millions, Punjab and Bengal which were to be divided between
India and Pakistan were plunged in utter misery and agony. As communal tension mounted,
armed bands roamed the country, burning villages, raping, looting and killing inhabitants.
Millions in search of safety left their homes, carrying whatever they could salvage.
Trainloads of displaced men, women and children daily crossed the border, Hindus and Sikhs
to India and Muslims to Pakistan. About ten million refugees was a gigantic task.
The State of Jammu and Kashmir could have joined either India or Pakistan because of its
geographical location. Even after independence, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja
Hari Singh dithered on the question of accession. Sacking and burning and looting all
along the way, hordes of pathan tribesmen backed by Pakistan came marching towards
Srinagar, in October 1947. The Maharaja acceded to India on the advice of his government
headed by Sheikh Abdullah. The Indian troops were flown to Kashmir on October 27. By then
the Pakistan army had joined the raiders. The raiders were pushed back beyond Baramula,
after three months of intense fighting. As the Pakistan army was involved in the invasion
of Kashmir, India lodged a complaint with the United Nations in 1948, which called for an
immediate cease-fire. Since then, a large portion of Kashmir still remains in the illegal
occupation of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told the nation over All India Radio in a voice quivering
with grief that the Father of the Nation, Bapu, is no more. In the evening, Gandhiji who
was staying at Birla House in New Delhi, used to hold prayer meetings. On January 30, he
left his room at 5'o'clock and walked towards the garden where a large crowd had gathered.
Thinking he was late, he tried to walk faster, leaning on his two granddaughters. As he
passed through the cordoned-off path, a youth named Nathuram Godse came forward as if to
seek the Mahatma's blessings and fired three shots at point-black range. Hey Ram! Is what
Gandhiji uttered and fell down. The news stunned the world.
On January 26, 1950, a new era began when India became an Independent democratic Republic.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad who presided over the Indian constituent assembly from 1946 to 1949,
was unanimously elected the nations first President. The Indian people from the very
beginning had asserted that the constitution under which they would live must be drawn up
by themselves. So after studying the constitution of various countries and after three
years of deliberations, draftings, debates and discussions, the constituent assembly with
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as chairman of the Drafting Committee, completed its task on November
26, 1949. On January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India came into force, the day which
since 1930, had been observed every year as the Independence Day. It contains 395 articles
and nine schedules. India became a sovereign, democratic republic, according to the
constitution. The preamble of the constitution spells out the aims and objectives, the
rights and responsibilities of the citizens of India.
Having achieved political independence in 1947, through national planning the Indian
government set itself the goal of freezing India's millions from poverty, ignorance and
disease. To prepare a blue-print of development, a planning commission was set up in 1950,
taking an overall view of the needs and resources of the country. As agriculture is the
backbone of India's economy, irrigation and hydropower schemes were given priority in the
first five-year plan. A chain of projects- Bhakra Nangal in Punjab, Hirakud in Orissa,
Damodar Valley in West Bengal and many more started taking shape. Through successive
Five-Year Plans, India has become self-sufficient in food grains despite rapid population
growth and has laid a strong foundation for industrialisation.
In 1952, for the first time, the Indians went to the polls under the new constitution to
elect people who would govern them. To make the list of 173 million adult voters, it took
four months for the government machinery. The task was more difficult as 80 percent of the
voters were illiterate and ignorant of the technique of voting. Over 17,000 candidates
from 51 political parties contested for 3,864 seats as the elections were held
simultaneously for 489 Lok Sabha seats and 3,375 state assembly seats. A visual symbol was
allotted to each political party and Independent candidate. For the voters to cast their
votes there were 1,96,000 polling booths, 600 million ballot papers and over two million
ballot boxes. The congress party swept the polls winning 362 Lok Sabha seats and secured a
majority in most states. For the second time Jawaharlal Nehru was sworn as the Prime
Minister of India.
The cornerstone of India's foreign policy laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru was the doctrine
embodied in the Five Principles called Panchshila. They are :
1. |
Non-aggression. |
2. |
Mutual respect and equality. |
3. |
Peaceful co-existence. |
4. |
Mutual respect for each others
Independence, Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity. |
5. |
Non-interference in each others
internal affairs. |
When the
Chinese Prime Minister Chov En-lai visited India in June 1954, he declared china's
adherence to these principles and signed a treaty with India. China invaded Tibet despite
these assurances and began curtailing the powers of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and
temporal head of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people revolted but were ruthlessly
crushed. In 1959, Dalai Lama and a few of his followers fled and sought refuge in India.
Ever since, the Dalai Lama has been living in the country with his headquarters at
Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. China's changed attitude on Tibet and its continued
aggression against India's northern borders greatly disillusioned Jawaharlal about the
efficacy of Panchshila as an instrument of peace.
