Voyage of Indian politics from 1947 to 2007 has not been very smooth. At the strike of midnight on August 14, 1947 India began its experiment of democracy against all odds. The first generation statesmen to the next bracket of leaders, all have allowed democracy to permeate into the Indian system right from the national level to the local panchayats. 60th birthday of India is just the right occasion to delve into the memory lanes of Indian political scenario from the Nehruvian era to the present times to see the journey of this stable nation.
It was not even six months after India gained independence, when ‘Father of the Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. His untimely death was a big blow to the nation, which was struggling hard to establish state authority, manage the accession of princely states among other Herculean tasks
The conjoined twins – India and Pakistan, who were separated at the birth of their independence soon were embroiled in battle over the claim of Kashmir when Pakistan sent tribes, the Maharaja quickly accede to India. The Indian forces could have brought the entire territory under its control but then Nehru made one of the most disputed decisions and halted the Indian Army in its track and seeds of discord were sown and the case rests there. Soon afterwards the Karachi Agreement was signed in 1949. Under this agreement a ceasefire line was established that had to be supervised by UN observers and Kashmir issue would be solved through arbitration.
First elections in independent India
1951-52 saw the first general election of India. These were the first ever polls to be held under the new constitution, drawn up with the British parliamentary system as a model. However, the biggest let down of the polls was that about 176 million people were eligible to vote and an abysmally low figure of 15% amongst them were
Congress passed the first litmus test of democracy by winning a landslide victory. The party won 249 of the 489 seats. Congress, however, suffered some unexpected setbacks in three southern states – Tamil Nadu (Madras), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad) and Kerala (Travancore) – where the party failed to win majority in the face of strong support of the Communist Party.
During his first stint after winning the elections, he tried to invent solutions for political and economic crisis arising out of Partition. Nehru’s government undertook a lot of economic measures to push India on the path of industrialization and modernization. A lot of efforts were invested to create big dams, vast industrial plants, institutions like – Atomic Energy, Planning Commissions. All these institutions were temples of growth of a ‘New India’.
Nehru led Congress to another victory in the 1957 polls. But CPI in Kerala, who swept polls, outnumbered Congress. A Left government was formed in the state. It was the first time a Communist party anywhere in the world won a democratic mandate. However, Centred dismissed the Left government and President’s rule was declared in 1959 in the state.
In 1959, just before the new decade could dawn, the ‘Iron Lady’ of India – Indira Gandhi made her presence felt in the political arena. She was elected the Congress chief in 1959 and was also a constant confidante of Nehru.
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