Developments under Nehru's Leadership (1947–1964)

Developments under Nehru's Leadership (1947–1964) Jawaharlal Nehru, as the first prime minister of independent India, along with other leaders, laid the foundation of a new India. The period between India’s independence and the death of Nehru, in May 1964, has been often termed as ‘Nehruvian Era’ due to Nehru’s influence on almost all aspects of decisions taken in India during that time. Nehru was influenced by many streams of thought, some imported from his association with Europe and some imbibed from his close association with Gandhi, besides what he perceived in the nation on his tours across its regions.

As a result, he enunciated a framework of democracy committed to secularism, socialistic approach, and social justice, besides the creation of an institutional base for speedy development of the country not only large but marked by huge diversity. He never forgot the idea of keeping the country united. He tried his best to arouse in his people an awareness of the need for social concern for the poor and the marginalised and a respect for democratic values.

Nehru is noted for having tried to impart modern values and ways of thinking that were adapted to Indian conditions. He was committed to carry India into an age of scientific discovery and technological development. A brief survey of different events and aspects of the Nehruvian period follows.

In the first general elections in 1952, the Congress won a huge majority and formed the government at the Centre headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Rajendra Prasad was elected president by the electoral college of the first Parliament of India. Nehru led the Congress to major election victories in 1957 and 1962, though the winning majority was reduced towards the end. Parliament in this period legislated various noteworthy laws that were directed towards social change and equity. (These aspects are dealt with under separate headings later.)

At the time of Independence, there were eleven major languages in India, each spoken by more than a million people. In colonial India, English was used as the official language, but with the attainment of independence, the question arose about having a ‘national’ or ‘official’ language, replacing English. Gandhi had recommended the use of Hindustani as the national language of the country for the sake of national integration.

Nehru too acknowledged the potential of Hindustani—not too Sanskritised, not too Persianised—to become the national language. On the whole, the idea of Hindi as a national language was not appreciated by the non-Hindi speaking southern and eastern regions of India. In the wake of serious resistance, the Language Committee of Constituent Assembly came up with a compromise formula. The Committee decided that the Hindi in Devanagari script was to be the ‘official’ language, but transition to Hindi would be gradual.

For the first fifteen years, English would continue to be used for all official purposes, and each province could choose one of the regional languages, for official work within the

province, which were to be listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Thus, by referring to Hindi as the official language rather than national, the committee hoped to placate the opposition. The language issue was further clarified by Parliament in 1963 through the Official Languages Act, which stated that Hindi was to become the official language in India from 1965. But as a concession to the non-Hindi speakers, English was accorded the status of ‘associate additional official language’.

Despite this, among non-Hindi speakers, especially in South India, the resentment against Hindi continued, and in late 1964 and in early 1965, violent demonstrations erupted over the language issue. The Official Languages (Amendment) Act of 1967 provided a bilingual (English- Hindi) solution for any official communication between the Centre and states, and gave a concession to the diverse multiplicity of languages by recognising regional languages in provincial administration and in public service examinations.

The demand for reorganisation of the states on the basis of language was an outcome of linguistic pluralism in India. The demand surfaced immediately after independence. The boundaries of provinces in pre-independent India were the outcome of the British conquest of India. The state boundaries were drawn either for administrative convenience or simply coincided with the territories annexed by the British government or the territories ruled by the princely states.

The Congress in its 1920’s session in Nagpur had made efforts to recognise regional linguistic identities and divided India into 21 linguistic units for its organisational set-up. Many provincial Congress committees were set up on the basis of linguistic zones, which often did not coincide with the administrative divisions of British India. However, when demands for the linguistic reorganisation of the provinces came up in the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and after independence, the national leadership under the Congress opposed it on the ground of national unity.

The situation in the newly independent country was difficult. India’s partition had created serious administrative, economic, and political challenges. The post-War world faced serious economic and law and order problems. The Kashmir problem and a war-like situation with Pakistan needed urgent attention. However, due to continuous demands, the Constituent Assembly, in June 1948, appointed the Linguistic Provinces Commission, headed by Justice S.K.

Dhar, to enquire into the need of linguistic provinces. The Dhar Commission, however, opposed such a move in the interest of national integration. Consequently, the Constituent Assembly decided not to include the linguistic principle in the Constitution. In December1948, to pacify the vocal votaries of linguistic states, the Congress appointed a committee (JVP), with Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya as its members.

Its report which is known as the JVP Report—also went against the creation of linguistic states in the interests of national unity. There was widespread agitation, especially in southern India, in the wake of the JVP report. The first demand for a linguistic province was seen in the Telugu-speaking region of Andhra. In August1951, Swami Sitaram, a Congressman and Gandhian leader, started a fast unto death.

While he broke his fast after 35 days, the movement was renewed in December 1952, by another Gandhian follower, Potti Sriramulu who died after fasting for 56 days. Sriramulu’s death was followed by rioting, demonstrations, hartals, and violence all over the Andhra region. The

government conceded the demand for a separate state of Andhra, which finally came into existence on October 1, 1953, with the region being separated from the Tamil-speaking Madras state. The creation of Andhra encouraged other linguistic groups to intensify their movements for their own state or for rectification of their boundaries on a linguistic ground. Under popular pressure, Nehru government appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in August 1953.

The commission, comprising Justice Fazl Ali, K.M. Panikkar, and Hridaynath Kunzru as members, submitted its report in October 1955; its recommendations were accepted with some modifications and implemented quickly. In November1956, the States Reorganisation Act was passed which provided for 14 states and 6 centrally administered territories, but many of these states still contained sizeable linguistic minorities and regional economic disparities.

The Telangana region of Hyderabad state was merged into Andhra; Kerala was formed by merging the Malabar district of the old Madras Presidency with Travancore- Cochin. Bombay state was enlarged further by merging the states of Kutch and Saurashtra and the Marathi-speaking regions of Hyderabad state. The Mysore state was enlarged by adding Kannada-speaking areas of adjoining states— Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad, and Coorg.

As the SRC had opposed the splitting of Bombay and Punjab, a widespread rioting broke out in January 1956 in Bombay city. The government finally agreed in May 1960 to bifurcate the state of Bombay into Maharashtra and Gujarat, with Bombay city being included in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad being made the capital of Gujarat. The Nagas, the first to raise the issue of ethnic identity, forced the Government of India to concede to demand for a separate state of Nagaland in 1960, inaugurated in 1963.

In an exception to the linguistic principle, in 1956, the states of PEPSU were merged with Punjab. Punjab remained a trilingual state having three language speakers—Punjabi, Hindi, and Pahari. The demand for a separate Punjabi Suba (Punjabi-speaking state) assumed communal overtones because of the Sikh and Hindu communalists. The problem remained unsolved in Nehru’s time. It was to be addressed later by Indira Gandhi. Over the years since then, many new states have been formed, not necessarily along linguistic lines.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, the Congress party ruled at the Centre and in most of the states. The people voted for the Congress mainly because they saw it as the legatee of the freedom struggle and because its leaders were perceived to be individuals of character and integrity. Perhaps the first time people exercised their right of choice for a party other than the Congress was when they voted the Communists into power in Kerala in 1957.

Then, in 1963, three notable opponents of the Congress were elected to the Lok Sabha, namely, the socialist Ram Manohar Lohia, the liberal M.R. Masani, and the Gandhian Acharya Kripalani. All this signified that the people of India were getting well acquainted with the mores of democracy. The period also saw the start and growth of political parties other than the Congress and the Communist Party ofIndia and notable changes within the communist groups.

The Socialist Party Formed in 1934 as Congress Socialist Party (SP), with its own constitution, membership, discipline, and ideology, it remained within the Congress Party till March 1948. Their

disassociation as a protest against the Congress’s move towards the right and its growing authoritarian tendencies was announced at a meeting in Nashik on March 28, 1948. In September1952, the CSP merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP) to form a new party—Praja Socialist Party (PSP). Praja Socialist Party In September1952, the Socialist Party and the KMPP merged to form Praja Socialist Party (PSP), with J.B.

Kripalani as the chairman and Ashoka Mehta as the general secretary. With the merger, it became the largest opposition party to the Congress with all-India presence. But the party could not maintain its cohesion for long. In June 1953, at the party’s Betul conference, Ashok Mehta called for support to the ruling party, as he believed that in a backward country like India the crucial task was economic development —a common challenge for all political parties.

Mehta’s thesis was rejected by the rest of the party, which accepted Ram Manohar Lohia’s approach. Lohia believed in a position of equidistance from both the Congress and the Communists, and supported the organisation of militant mass movements. Lohia and his group left the PSP at the end of 1955. While Acharya Narendra Dev died in 1956, Jayaprakash Narayan, in 1954, announced that he would dedicate his life to Bhoodan and other constructive activities.

In 1957, after the general elections, Jayaprakash Narayan left active politics, declaring that party politics was not suitable for India and campaigned for ‘partyless democracy’. Kripalani, in 1960, left the party too, and three years later, Ashok Mehta agreed to become the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. Ashok Mehta joined the Congress Party with almost one-third of PSP cadres with him.

Lohiya formed the Socialist Party, which in 1964, merged with the PSP to form the Samyukta (or United) Socialist Party (SSP). In 1965, the party split again—Lohia’s group kept the SSP label, while his critics started a fresh PSP. The Communist Party In the period following independence, the official stand taken by the Communist Party of India towards the changing sociopolitical dynamics went through alterations.

It first accepted India’s independent foreign policy though it still considered the government to be an agent of imperialism. It later went on to accept that India had become a sovereign republic but also felt its policies were pro-capitalist and anti-people. The communists would offer a ‘democratic front’ to replace the Congress Party. In1958, at its Amritsar meeting, the party declared that it was possible to advance to socialism through peaceful and parliamentary means.

And, if the party came to power, it would grant full civil liberties, including the right to oppose the socialist government and the socialist system through constitutional mechanisms. Then, in 1961, at Vijayawada, it was decided to follow a policy of struggle as well as unity towards Congress— progressive policies were to be supported, while struggle against other policies were to continue. Split in CPI Within the party, there were several differences on issues like attitude towards the Soviet critique of Stalin, Russia-China ideological differences, and Sino- India War of1962.

Some communists supported the government fully against the Chinese invasion, while others, though opposed to the Chinese stand on the question of India- China frontiers, also opposed the unqualified support to the Nehru government because of its class character. The Sino-Soviet ideological split also witnessed a great deal of resonance on the Indian

Communists—many sympathetic to the Chinese position. In fact, the Chinese call, which asked the revolutionary elements in the communist parties of the world to distance themselves from those supporting the ‘revisionist’ soviet line, had great influence on the Indian Communists. In1964, the party got divided into, CPI—representing the earlier ‘right’ and ‘centrist’ trends, and CPM or the Communist Party (Marxist)—representing the earlier ‘left’ trend.

The CPM believed that the Indian State was being ruled by big bourgeoisie who collaborated with foreign finance capital and hence have to be destroyed. They had contempt for Indian Constitution as they thought it to be antidemocratic and hence did not believe in peaceful and parliamentary means. For them, an agrarian revolution coupled with an armed struggle led by the working class and the CPM was necessary to bring changes in the social relations.

Bharatiya Jan Sangh The Bharatiya Jan Sangh, founded on October 21, 1951, was based on right wing ideology. According to Bipan Chandra, the Jana Sangh was a communal party, and to understand its basic character and politics, the genesis of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to be analysed first. The Jan Sangh was a creation of the RSS and drew its organised strength, centralised character, and ideological homogeneity from it.

The party in the beginning was strongly anti-Pakistan. The propagation of Bharatiya culture and the establishment of Bharatiya nationalism were its core agenda, and it gave the slogan of ‘one country one culture, one nation’.

Similarly, it took a strident stand in favour of Sanskritised Hindi as an official link language of India. (In 1965, it gave up this demand in view of expansion of party in non-Hindi belt and accepted the decision to retain English along with Hindi so long as the non-Hindi states wanted this.) Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who had resigned from the Nehru cabinet in April 1951 over the Nehru–Liaquat Pact, was the main force behind the formation of the Jana Sangh. Mukherjee claimed it to be a non-communal party aiming to build a broad-based democratic opposition to the Congress.

But in the absence of any effective alternative ideology or programme, and mass support, the party became a subsidiary of the RSS. It won 3 Lok Sabha seats, with 3.06 per cent of votes. Incidentally, Mauli Chandra Sharma, the second president of the Jana Sangh, resigned in protest against the RSS domination of the party. In later years, the party was to be a part of the coalition Janata Party against the Emergency.

The Swatantra Party Founded in August 1959, the Swatantra Party was a nonsocialist, constitutionalist, and secular conservative party having distinguished leaders like C. Rajagopalachari (who resigned from the Congress), Minoo Masani, N.G. Ranga, and K.M. Munshi, most of them being veteran Congress leaders.

The social base of the party was narrow and consisted of: (i) a section of industrialists and business class discontented with government control, quotas and licences, and fearful of nationalisation; (ii) landlords, jagirdars, and princes, annoyed due to loss of fiefdoms, social power and status, and deteriorating economic conditions; (iii) ex-landlord- turnedcapitalist farmers and rich and middle peasants, who had welcomed the abolition of landlordism but were fearful of losing part of their land; and (iv) a few retired civil servants.

The Swatantra Party favoured the notion of the ‘night watchman’ or laissez-faire State and stood for free, private enterprise. It opposed the active role of the State in economic development and nationalisation of private enterprises and extension of land reforms.

In international relations, the party denounced nonalignment as well as Indo-Soviet collaboration and wanted a close relation with the US and countries of Western Europe. In fact, it advocated for a defence coalition with noncommunist countries of Asia including Pakistan, under the capitalist superpower, United States. In the 1962 elections, it won 18 seats in the Lok Sabha and emerged as the main opposition party in four states (Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Orissa). Factions, defections, and death of C. Rajagopalachari in 1967, proved detrimental to the Swatantra Party. Most of the party leaders joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal in 1974, while a small group led by Masani tried to survive the party. Communal and Regional Parties

• ● The Hindu Mahasabha, which was founded in 1915 at Haridwar by Madan Mohan Malaviya,

gradually disappeared from the political scene after 1952 and lost its support base to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. ●The Muslim League, owing to its association with the demand for Pakistan, lay dormant and many of its leaders joined the Congress Party and other parties. Later, it revived in parts of Tamil Nadu and in Kerala and was to become coalition partners of the Congress, CPI, and CPM in the coming years.

• ● The Akali Dal gave way to Shiromani Akali Dal and remained limited to Punjab.

●The other regional parties which came into prominence were—The DMK (Tamil Nadu), the Jammu and Kashmir National conference (J & K), Jharkhand Party (in undivided Bihar), Ganatantra Parishad (Orissa), All Parties Hill Leaders’ Conference (Assam), Scheduled Castes Federation (Maharashtra), etc. Forward Bloc (West Bengal) and Peasants and Workers’ Party (Maharashtra) were parties inclined towards left ideology but restricted to only one state.

In 1957, the Congress Party faced an unexpected defeat in the State of Kerala when the CPI emerged as the largest single party in the legislative assembly. E.M.S. Namboodiripad formed the government with the support of some independents. It was perhaps the first time that a communist government was formed on the basis of democratic elections. Trouble began with the introduction of the Education Bill, which was, in actuality, a progressive measure.

It was vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church in the state which ran several educational institutions and saw the bill as an encroachment on its power. Seeing in this situation an apt opportunity, the local Congress party members who had lost in the elections, organised state-wide protests. There were strikes as well. The government resorted to lathicharges and firing. Several persons were jailed.

Nehru, though he had little objection to the education bill, maintained a neutral front in public. He admonished the state government for its excessive use of force even as he tried to rein in the Congress workers. But he failed to change anything on the ground. In the end, he succumbed to pressure from within and outside his party and advised the dismissal of the EMS government and imposition of President’s Rule in Kerala in July 1959.

A democratically elected government was thus, for the first time in independent India, dismissed under emergency powers.

Concept Of Planning For Economic Development Nehru believed in effective planning through the democratic process for extensive land reforms, industrialisation, and development of various infrastructural facilities like power plants, transport projects, irrigation dams, etc. In his ideas on economic development, he was not in favour of Gandhi’s ideas. So, he envisaged the State intervening in the economy, and guiding its growth and acting directly to promote the welfare of the population. Nehru, together with several national leaders, was fascinated with the success of economic planning in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s. The genesis of the Planning Commission could be traced to the National Planning Committee established in 1938 by Congress, and the Bombay Plan of 1944. The Planning Commission, an extra-constitutional body, was set up in March 1950 by a simple resolution of the Government of India. The body was assigned the task of economic planning in the form of five-year plans. The prime minister, himself, was the ex-officio chairman of the commission. The National Development Council (NDC), which was to give final approval to the plans, was established on August 6, 1952. The First Five-Year Plan (1951–56), based on Harrod– Domar model, sought to get the nation’s economy out of the cycle of poverty. It addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector including investments in dams and irrigation. Huge allocations were made for large-scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam. It also focused on land reforms. The Second Plan, drafted under the leadership of P.C. Mahalanobis, stressed on heavy industries. The plan reflected the ‘socialistic pattern of society’, as the government imposed substantial tariffs on imports in order to protect domestic industries. The Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second. However, the plan strategies, according to critics, from this time around displayed an unmistakable ‘urban bias’ as well as the industry was wrongly given priority over agriculture. Under the guidance of Nehru, who believed in ‘democratic socialism’, India opted for a ‘mixed economy’, i.e., elements from the capitalist model and socialist model were taken and mixed together. Much of the agriculture, trade, and industry were left in private hands. The State controlled key heavy industries, provided industrial infrastructure, regulated trade, and made some important interventions in agriculture. However, a mixed model like this was open to criticism from both the left and the right. According to the critics, the five-year plans did not provide the private sector with enough space and the stimulus to grow. Further, the systems of licences and permits for investment discouraged private sector and gave rise to corruption and red tapism. On the other hand, the sympathisers of the socialist model alleged that the State did not spend significant amounts on public education and health care. The State intervention ended up creating a new ‘middle class’ that enjoyed the privileges of high salaries without much accountability, according to critics. Despite criticism of the shortfalls in plan targets, none can deny that a solid industrial base and infrastructure facilities were created under the plans. Bhakhra-Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation, and Hirakud mega-dams were constructed for irrigation and power generation. Some of the heavy industries in the public sector—steel plants, oil refineries, manufacturing units, defence production, etc., were started. The Hindustan Machine Tools, Sindri Fertiliser, Chittaranjan Rail Factory, Integral Coach Factory, Hindustan

Antibiotics, etc., proved to be of great help to the new nation.

Progress Of Science And Technology Nehru believed that science and technology were crucial to the solution of India’s problems. The Scientific Policy Resolution, acknowledging the role of science and technology in the economic, social, and cultural advancement of the country, was passed by the Lok Sabha in March 1958. But prior to the passing of SPR in 1958, many scientific and technological institutes were set up in the country.

To emphasise the value of science and scientific research, Nehru himself assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Some of the strides taken in this direction are given below. ●In January1947, to promote self-sustaining, scientific, and technological growth, the National Physical Laboratory— India’s first national laboratory—was set up, which was followed by the setting up of a network of 17 national laboratories, focusing on different areas of research. ●In 1952, the first of the five institutes of technology, patterned after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was set up at Kharagpur. ●The Atomic Energy Commission, headed by Homi J. Bhabha, was set up in August 1948.

Nehru personally encouraged Bhabha to do his best. In 1954, the government created a separate Department of Atomic Energy with Homi Bhabha as secretary. In August 1956, India’s first nuclear reactor in Trombay (Asia’s first also), became critical. ●In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), together with a Rocket Launching Facility at Thumba (TERLS), was established.

• ● Steps were taken to increase India’s capacity in the production of defence equipment.

●A changeover to decimal coinage and a metric system of weights and measures, in line with international standards, was made in phases between 1955 and 1962.

In 1951, only 16.6 per cent of the total population was literate and the percentage was much lower in rural areas. Between 1951 and 1961, school enrolment doubled for boys and tripled for girls. Through the personal interest and efforts of Nehru, several policies were introduced to improve the educational situation. By 1964, the number of universities increased from 18 (in 1947) to 54. In 1949, the Indian University Education Commission, under the chairmanship of Dr. S.

Radhakrishnan was set up. On the recommendation of the commission, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was set up in 1953, and University Grants Commission Act was passed in 1956. For improvements in the secondary education, the government appointed Mudaliar Commission in 1952, with Dr. A. Lakshmanswami Mudaliar as chairperson. Further, to assist and advise the Central and state governments on academic matters related to school education, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established in September 1961 as a literary, scientific, and charitable society.

The Constitution of India ensured that Indian social organisation underwent change, leading to the social liberation of the hitherto socially backward and suppressed sections of society. In 1955, the government passed the Anti-Untouchability Law, making the practice of untouchability punishable and a cognisable offence. The clauses mentioned in the Constitution regarding reservations in educational institutions and government employment in favour of weaker sections of the society were implemented.

For women’s equal rights in the society, the Hindu Code Bill was moved in Parliament in 1951. Despite facing sharp opposition from conservative sections of society, the bill was passed in the form of four separate acts. These acts introduced monogamy and the right of divorce to both men and women, raised the age of consent and marriage, and gave women the right to maintenance and to inherit family property.

But unfortunately, in the absence of a uniform civil code, the revolutionary step benefited only Hindu women. There was much more that needed to be done for Hindu women too.

To pursue an independent foreign policy, for a nascent nation, was a great challenge for the leaders of independent India. The broad parameters which had evolved during the freedom struggle had to be kept at the core while taking any decisions on international affairs. Nehru gave this voice a shape in the form of the idea of non-alignment and an organisational structure through the non-aligned movement (NAM). The basic principles of India’s foreign policy, during the Nehruvian Era, broadly revolved around the premises given below. (i) Disapproval of participation in any military alliance either bilaterally or multilaterally (ii) An independent foreign policy not tied to any of the two contending power blocs, though this was not a synonym for a neutral foreign policy (iii) A policy of friendship with every country, whether of the American bloc or of the Soviet bloc (iv) An active anti-colonial policy which supported decolonisation in Asian-African-Latin American countries (v) Open support to the policy of anti-apartheid (vi) Promotion of disarmament as the key to world peace [The basic principles of non-alignment and NAM have already been discussed at length in the chapter, ‘The Evolution of Nationalistic Foreign Policy’.] India’s commitment to disarmament at the international level could be seen in the time of framing of UN’s Charter. Article 11 of the Charter advocates international disarmament. India supported the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1947 and sponsored the Eighteen Nations Disarmament Conference in 1962.

Relations With Neighbours

The unnaturalness and artificiality of partition impelled Pakistan to try and establish its identity independent of India, of which it was till 1947 a part by geography, history, tradition, and culture. Pakistan, since its birth, has the aspiration for achieving parity with India in all fields. Thus, Pakistan started competing with India at all international fora and used all kinds of means to acquire prominence.

Kashmir Issue Pakistan refused to accept Kashmir’s accession to India on October 26, 1947. In response to the Pakistan-sponsored tribal attack, India, supported by the local population under Sheikh Abdullah, undertook a swift military action. But, unfortunately, before the task of rescuing the territory could be accomplished, a complaint was lodged by Nehru with the Security Council in January 1948.

This resulted in a ceasefire on January 1, 1949. India also agreed to hold a plebiscite in 1947 under international supervision, but due to changed circumstances, India finally withdrew from the offer in 1955. Although diplomatic battles for Kashmir were fought in the UNO and other international forums, no actual war took place between the two countries up to 1964. Indus River Water Dispute Equitable sharing of the waters of the Indus system had been an issue of discord since partition.

The partition gave India 5 million of the 28 million acres of land irrigated by the Indus. Most of the waters of the western parts of the Indus system went into the Arabian Sea. Some canals in Pakistan depended on the eastern rivers flowing through the East Punjab (India) for supplies. The headworks of some vital canals in Pakistan come within the Indian territory. The successive governments in Pakistan blamed India for any calamity created by natural factors like droughts and floods in Pakistan.

So, under the guidance of the World Bank, an interim agreement on canal waters was signed on April 17, 1959. Subsequently, a comprehensive agreement between the two countries was signed on September 19, 1960 in Karachi. Unfortunately, till today, on several occasions, the Indus Water Treaty has caused discord between the two nations.

One of the first countries with which independent India established diplomatic relations was the Nationalist Government of China led by Chiang Kaishek. When the Nationalist Government was overthrown by the Communists in 1949, India was once more among the first countries to recognise the new government led by Mao Tse Tung. India consistently supported the efforts of the People’s Republic of China to get admitted to the United Nations.

But the results of all these efforts proved frustrating for India. Developments in Tibet and Panchsheel The Chinese army entered Tibet in 1950 and occupied it. India, apart from sharing about 2000 miles of frontier in the Tibet region, had inherited several rights and obligations over Tibet from the British rule. However, to maintain peace, Nehru in 1954 concluded an agreement with China, which formalised the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

The agreement is popularly known as Panchsheel. In 1959, a popular uprising took place in Tibet against Chinese dominance. Though the upsurge was suppressed by China, the religious head of Tibet, Dalai Lama fled and took asylum in India. Taking this as an excuse, China in 1959 occupied Longju and 12,000 square miles of Indian territory in Ladakh. This followed a series of protest notes, memorandums, and aide memoires being exchanged between the two countries. In the next move, China laid claims on large parts of

Indian territories, after which the Chinese prime minister, Chou-En-Lai came to New Delhi in April 1960 to negotiate border disputes. Official teams of the two countries also visited each other, but no agreement could be reached and the border dispute continued. Sino-Indian War, 1962In October1962, China attacked India in NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) and Ladakh. Thus, a war between the two countries started, which ended in a military debacle for India.

The Chinese had a geographical advantage as well as superior arms. Nehru turned to the USA and Britain for help. The Western powers—the USA as well as Britain—pledged support to India and were already flying arms to India. In November 1962, China made a unilateral declaration of its withdrawal. But China continued its occupation of a large chunk of Ladakh—a much coveted strategic link between Sin Kiang and southern China.

India’s diplomatic efforts to pressurise China to return the territories yielded no results. Even the Afro-Asian mediation by Indonesia, Cambodia, Burma, UAR, Ghana, and Ceylon to find a peaceful solution of Sino-Indian border dispute, at Colombo in December 1962, failed to get a favourable response from China. In1964, China tested its first nuclear explosion, further alarming India.

Consequences of Sino-Indian War (i) The war gave a big blow to the self-respect of India. (ii) The policy of non-alignment came under question. (iii) The Congress lost three parliamentary by-elections in a row and Nehru had to face the first no-confidence motion of his life. (iv) The Third Five-Year Plan was badly affected as resources were diverted for defence. (v) India’s foreign policy took a change, as the US and the UK had responded positively in the crisis, they were to be considered in future.

US intelligence agencies developed links in the name of countering the Chinese threat and even planted a nuclear- powered device in the Himalayas. (vi) Pakistan, encouraged by the Indian debacle in the war, was to attack India in 1965, covertly helped by China.

The geographical location of Nepal has made it inseparable from India from the point of view of India’s external security. Being conscious of this factor, India signed a treaty with Nepal in July 1950 by which it recognised Nepal’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. The two countries made a commitment to each other to inform each other of any serious friction or misunderstanding arising on any problem.

In August1949, the two countries signed a treaty for perpetual peace and friendship. India undertook to exercise non-interference in the internal administration of Bhutan, while Bhutan agreed to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations.

The Tamil-Sinhalese riots of 1958 and thereafter attracted the sympathy of some Indian leaders for the Tamilian population of Sri Lanka. This open sympathy, inside and outside Indian Parliament, was disliked by the Sri Lankan government. But the Indian government, considering

the ethnic disputes in Sri Lanka to be an internal matter of that country, remained friendly towards Sri Lanka. Both nations forged mutually beneficient economic and trade relations. In fact, Sri Lanka supported NAM and did not join any military alliance.