Social Sciences, asked by afridi280, 1 year ago

what are problems faced by India after independence

Answers

Answered by xyz6198
2
1. Bangladesh Liberation War (1971):
This was the challenge for India's statesmanship. 

Pakistan's military dictator Yahya Khan ordered Operation Searchlight in order to suppress the East Pakistan's demands. This commenced the genocide in East Pakistan due to which refugee influx started from Bangladesh to India. There were 10 million refugees in India putting more and more stress on already fumbling economy. Indian Government was running out of resources to even guard the refugees, let alone help them. Considering the number of refugees, it was one of the biggest challenge of its time. 

With U.S. and China on Pakistan's side, Pakistan was not going to stop the genocide which was also mainly targeted at Hindus in East Pakistan. In such crisis, Indian PM Indira Gandhi showed a great courage to help Bangladesh for its freedom despite of American threat. She is always remembered for the statesmanship she displayed during Bangladesh liberation war.

2. Emergency (1975-77):
This was the first and the biggest challenge for Indian democracy. 

Protagonist of 1971 story was the antagonist of 1975 story. Popularity gained by Indira Gandhi during 1971 rapidly declined during subsequent years. Due to many controversial decisions and depressing economy (part of which was attributed to Bangladesh Liberation War), Indira government was seen as the corrupt government and there were mass movements started by students in Gujrat and Bihar. These movements got support of other political parties and got a leader like Jaiprakash Narayan.
 
In June 1975, Indira Gandhi was asked by the High Court to step down from PM position. This fueled the anti-Indira movement. To retain her position, she declared the internal emergency. This was the unprecedented situation since independence. This period witnessed a repressive regime (rules like forced sterilization were implemented). Many prophets of doom and gloom also saw this as the end of Indian democracy. However India survived this challenge, though the reasons for how India survived are not clear.

3. Khalistan Movement (1984):
This was the biggest secessionist challenge faced since independence, and threatened the integrity of India.

In early 1980s, religious politics in Punjab took a violent turn. There was a rise of a Sikh religious leader Bhindranwale, partially due to politics of Congress and Akali Dal. Later Bhindranwale encouraged the terrosrist activities and started the demand for separate Khalistan. Terrorist used Gurudwaras including the Golden temple as their forts. They were supported and trained by Pakistan. 

By 1984, situation went out of hands and finally Indira Gandhi declared the controversial military operation 'Blue Star'. Though this operation was successful (again its success is debatable as some argue that it was ill-prepared), Indira Gandhi had to pay the price (she was assassinated by Sikh security personnel). This further commenced the violence against Sikhs. The movement continued for some years in less violent form. Finally Rajiv Gandhi was able to bring the situation under control during his Prime Ministership.

4. Economic Crisis (1991):
This was the economic challenge and compelled India to change its economic policies for a greater good.

Due to the strong state control over the economy, India was facing the problem of declining foreign reserves. Since Independence, Indian leaders strongly resisted the foreign capital inflow due to the legacy of national movement for independence. The center-left policy of Nehru took a further leftward turn during Indira Gandhi's regime (she implemented many populist economic reforms like nationalization of banks, production limits etc.). By 1991, situation worsened so much that India had foreign reserves sufficient only for two weeks and India was on the verge of bankruptcy. 

It was at this crucial point, PM P. V. Narasimha Rao permitted Finance Minister Manmohan Singh to open the economy for foreign capital (he had been a proponent of these reforms for a long time). These reforms significantly fueled the growth of Indian economy and India came out of crisis as a promising economy.

In my opinion, these are the biggest challenges on different fronts Republic of India faced since independence.

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