India Since Independence: Making Sense of Indian Politics, 1e

461 Pages·2010·6.26 MB·English

Indian politics is a riveting drama of interesting personalities, ideas in confl ict,
intrigues, serious policy-making and more. But there are few books that off er a
comprehensive view of what has transpired in the name of politics in India in
the last 60 years. India Since Independence is a work of political history shorn of
academic jargon and rich in details.
Th e Crest Edition—Th e Times of India, 3 April 2010
A sound and exhaustive narrative of ‘high politics’ in Independent India, … this
book is useful for students and general readers alike. Two things about the organi-
sation of the book and writing style of the author are noteworthy. Th e subject
has been chronologically, not thematically, treated. Th is has its own advantage.
Someone interested in knowing just what happened on June 25, 1975, may turn
to the pages on Emergency and be done with it, without much ado.
Bhupendra Yadav, Th e Hindu, 10 November 2009
Th e book also takes into account some of the most challenging and testing times
faced by the country like the unrest in Assam, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir
and the political upheaval created by the Bofors scandal, the Ayodhya issue and
the implementation of the Mandal Commission … the analysis as detailed in
the book gives a new vantage point to observe these scenarios which … almost
threatened to balkanise the country .… If history is about facts and journalism is
about storytelling, [this] is what you get when both of these combine. V. Krishna
Ananth’s book is simply unputdownable.
Santosh Kr Singh, Th e Tribune, 18 April 2010
A strictly factual narrative [which can] help in an informed debate on the Emer-
gency along with allied issues and meet the need of those trying to fi nd and fath-
om the event’s extra-party-political signifi cance .… For [many], Ananth’s story
brings back a slew of memories.
J. Sri Raman, Th e Herald of India, October 2009
Krishna Ananth has succeeded in providing an account that would stand historical and
literary scrutiny and would help the readers, not necessarily students, obtain a proper
understanding of post-Independence Indian history. It is no mean achievement for
a historian to steer clear of political bias in writing a book of this nature, particularly
when he too had played a small role, either as a reporter or as a political commentator.
A. J. Philip, Economic and Political Weekly, 17 April 2010
If Ramachandra Guha, in his sweeping India After Gandhi, approached political events
shaping modern India (1948–1989) from a historian’s point of view, Ananth’s take is
political, thick with details. Th ere is plenty of material for researchers looking for a
snapshot view of politics.
Th e Indian Express, 28 November 2009
In a succinct acco ulln at ns uiimtapbolyr tapnetp psperaecde —wiat hjo aunrencadliosttiecs,, nVo. nK-arcisahdneam Aicn panedtha’gs obgoicoakl is an attempt to fi
narrative for students who wish to explore the contours of the evolution of politics in
independent India.
Hormazd Mehta, Combat Law
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INDIA
SINCE INDEPENDENCE
MAKING SENSE OF INDIAN POLITICS
V. KRISHNA ANANTH
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Copyright © 2010 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd.
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e-ISBN 9789332513716
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To my parents
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Prologue xi
I Nineteenth Century Intellectuals and the
Emergence of Nationalist Th ought 1
II Th e Emergence of Gandhi and the
Nationalist Struggle 9
III Indian Capitalists and the Freedom Struggle 21
IV Independence and the Emergence of Nehru 27
V Th e Era of Nehruvian Socialism 37
VI Th e End of the Nehru Era, the Shastri Interlude
and the Emergence of Indira 51
VII Th e Decline of the Congress and Indira’s Rise 67
VIII Th e Congress Party’s Shift to the Command Mode 91
IX Indira Under Siege and JP Arrives on the Scene 107
X Th e Emergency 143
XI Th e Janata Party 181
XII Th e Turbulent Years: 1980–84 237
XIII Th e Rajiv Gandhi Era 277
XIV Th e V. P. Singh Era 343
Epilogue 389
Bibliography 417
Index 423
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Acknowledgements
It was in the course of formulating and teaching a module on political reporting at
the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, that I felt the need for a book of this
kind. Th e module was intended to equip the aspiring journalists with a sense
of history while they looked into the contemporary political events. However,
I found in them a sense of remoteness whenever I lectured to them about an
event that I felt was contemporary. It then occurred to me that even the national
Emergency of June 1975–March 1977 belonged to the distant past to them. Th e
book w ea st craoinncineigv etdh aint It hraetc ceiovnetde xftr.o m PThrofessor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, my
supervisor at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi, equipped me to cull out facts from the past. Bappa, for all of us who had
the privilege to work under his supervision, was a task master. He taught me to
respect facts in history. Th at made the diff erence.
Th e immediate provocation, however, came from V. P. Singh. In one of
my casual interactions with him, he felt that it was time I began working on a
book. I began thinking of a break from active journalism. I had, by then, gained
immensely from my association with Th e Hindu. N. Ravi and Malini Parthasarathy
of Th e Hindu were liberal in letting me travel across the hinterlands and explore
the political terrain across the country and accumulate information. K. K. Katyal,
Chief of the Bureau then at Th e Hindu in New Delhi, was a constant source of
guidan cee .l o ng Thinteractive sessions I had with Madhu Limaye helped me gain
insights into our political history. Interactions with George Fernandes, Jaipal
Reddy, Surendra Mohan, Sharad Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Ramakrishna Hegde
helped me make sense of some of the critical events in our short political history.
M. S. Appa Rao, freedom fi ghter, human rights activist and above all a man who
loved books, was a source of inspiration.
My parents groomed me into becoming a follower of political events. My father,
K. Vaidyanathan, initiated me into the world of political history; and my mother,
P. A. Lakshmi, a stoic woman with strong views, infused the confi dence in me
to chart my own course. E. K. Santha, my best friend and partner, has been a
trenchant critique and honest with her comments. Her reviews, at various stages,
helped me make this book into what it is. My son, Chinku, still in his teens, did
not mind my tantrums and mood swings, during the several months, when I was
engrossed in this work. He believed that his father was doing something useful!
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