CHALLENGES OF NATION BUILDING
At midnight on 14-15 August 1947, India attained independence. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of free India, addressed a special session of the Constituent Assembly that night.
Objectives of the Nation-builders
There were two goals almost everyone agreed upon:
- That after independence, we shall run our country through democratic government; and
- That the government will be run for the good of all, particularly the poor and the socially disadvantaged groups.
Now that the country was independent, the time had come to realize the promise of freedom.
1. Major Challenges faced by a budding Nation
The first and immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the diversity existing in the society and eradicate poverty and unemployment. The second challenge was to establish democracy. The third challenge was to ensure the development and well-being of the entire society and not only of some sections.
2. The nightmare becomes real- Partition of the Nation
- From 14th to 15th August 1947, two nation-states India and Pakistan came into existence. Lakhs of people from both sides lost their homes, lives and properties and became victims of communal violence.
- based on the Muslim majority belt West and East Pakistan was created which were separated by a long expanse of Indian Territory.
- Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan also known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’ was the undisputed leader of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Despite his opposition, NWFP was merged with Pakistan.
- The portion of Punjab and Bengal caused the deepest trauma of partition.
Consequences of the Partition
- It was deeply scarring and traumatic, changing their lives dramatically, and uprooting them from places and communities where they had lived for generations.
- People lost languages, ways of life, property, heirlooms, people. It shaped their attitudes toward government, minorities and the concept of home.
- The year 1947 was the year of one of the largest, most abrupt, unplanned and tragic transfers of population in human history.
- Minorities on both sides of the border fled their home and secured temporary’ shelter' in ‘refugee camps’.
- Women were often abducted, raped, attacked and killed. They were forcefully converted to other religions.
- Political and administrative machinery failed on both sides.
- There was a huge loss of lives and property. Communal violence was at its culmination.
Map representing India before and after partition
ImageSource-NCERT
3. Integration of India with princely states
- There were two types of provinces in British India. The British Indian Provinces (directly under the control of the British Government) and Princely states (governed by Indian princes).
- Immediately after independence, there were almost 565 princely states. Many of them joined the Indian Union.
- Travancore, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur initially refused to join the Indian Union.
- British Indian Provinces: The Indian provinces which were directly under the British government before independence.
- Princely States: States ruled by Princes who enjoyed some form of control over their state's internal affairs under British supremacy.
4. Steps taken by the Government aftermath of Partition
- The then interim government took firm steps against the possible division of India into small principalities of different sizes.
- The government’s approach was guided by three considerations
- The people of most of the princely states wanted to become part of the Indian Union.
- The government was prepared to be flexible in giving autonomy to some regions.
- Consolidation of the territorial boundaries of the nation had assumed supreme importance.
5. Instrument of Accession for Jammu and Kashmir
- The Instrument of Accession(IoA) is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir, on October 26, 1947.
- The accession declared that the state accedes to India. It gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate in respect of J&K only on the matters of defence, external affairs and communications.
- Apart from defence, communications and external affairs, the IoA mentions ancillary subjects that include elections to the dominion legislature.
6. Reorganisation of States
When the Constitution came into force, there were four kinds of States, called Parts A, B, C and D States, with the last two being administered by centrally appointed Chief Commissioners and Lieutenant Governors, with no locally elected Assemblies to aid and advise them.
| Part - A States | Nine former Governors’ Provinces of British India were made Part A states. |
| Part - B States | Eight former Princely States or groups of smaller princely states were made Part B states. |
| Part - C States | Ten former chief Commissioners Provinces and some princely states were made Part C states, were governed by chief commissioners appointed by the President of India. |
| Part - D States | Andaman and Nicobar Islands was the only Part D state and was administered by a central government-appointed lieutenant governor. |
The States Reorganization Act, 1956
- The States of India were originally formed as a result of historical accidents and circumstances.
- After independence there was a growing demand for reorganisation of the States on a more rational basis in the context of not only financial, economic and administrative management of independent India but also due to the growing importance of regional languages.
- For the first time, the States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was constituted in 1953 to go into this problem and to recommend the principles and broad guidelines on which the States can be reorganized. The Commission submitted its report in September 1955.
- The Commission was appointed by Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. SRC was headed by S. Fazal Ali and had two members namely Panikkar & H. N. Kunzru
- To give effect to the scheme of reorganization which emerged from the consideration of the proposals contained in the Report, the States Reorganization Act, 1956, was enacted by the Parliament under Article 3 of the Constitution of India.
The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 implemented the scheme of state reorganization. It has added Article 350A which is designed to implement one of the States Reorganisation Commission’s important recommendations regarding safeguards for linguistic minorities in the States after reorganization.
- The new States formed as a result of the reorganization of States in 1956 are Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Punjab and Rajasthan.
- SRA, 1956 also provided for the following:
- Amendment to First & Fourth Schedule
- Provision of High Courts for the new States
- Zonal Council
- Delimitation of Constituencies
- All India Services
- Services under the State Public Service Commission
