Although India is often praised as the world’s largest democracy, most of its institutions are in need of reform. The British-based judicial system, for instance, is gridlocked but often seems to be the only institution able to put any restraints on the wilder excesses of politicians. The country has, however, managed to sustain a working electoral system since 1947, with only a 19-month gap in the mid-1970s when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared emergency rule. This achievement is considerable and some analysts believe elections have helped to keep the poor, heterogeneous country together since achieving Independence from Britain in 1947.
The new republic
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, believed that economic power should rest with the state. He gave India a planned economy, in which the government owned basic industries, such as steel and power generation, and had control over what the private sector produced. Manufacturers were licensed to produce goods in certain quantities, at certain prices, and were issued with raw materials. This, in conjunction with the “India First” policy of self-sufficiency, made considerable headway in improving the economic condition of the country. The Green Revolution also contributed to turning India from a net importer of food to a major exporter. Pessimists warned it was premature to give the vote to the illiterate masses in 1947 and unwise to adopt Britain’s political system, designed for such different circumstances. Nehru, however, was vindicated in arguing that it was precisely what India needed. It would, he thought, keep under control the cultural, ethnic and religious differences that might otherwise tear the country apart. To achieve unity, more than 500 Indian princes had to give up their titles. This tricky diplomatic task was accomplished in 1950 by Nehru’s deputy, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, a communal right-winger trusted by those who lived off inherited wealth.
The decision to base the new state boundaries on regional languages led to problems. Inevitably a multitude of dialects had to be ignored. The ethnic and language divisions of the states were never satisfactorily settled and violent disputes still occasionally flare.
Initially, the communal violence of Partition (the separation of the country into a predominantly Muslim Pakistan and a predominantly Hindu India) was traumatic. Hindus and Muslims clashed bitterly, slaughtering thousands and forcing countless others to flee their homes. Although Nehru tried to separate political and public life, confining religion to the private sphere, the distinction was never fully accepted by large parts of the population, who regarded their spiritual and secular lives as indivisible.
Nehru aimed to transform a feudal society into one of equal opportunity. He placed his faith in Democratic Socialism, a middle way between a capitalistic welfare state and a Soviet-styled centrally controlled economy. Encouraging self-reliance would, he hoped, stimulate free enterprise, but avoid polarizing wealth. Imports were restricted, business excesses were checked by state institutions and key industries were kept under state control.
On the foreign front, India helped to establish the Non-Aligned Movement and advocated in the 1950s that China be given international status. But Nehru’s admiration of China blinded him to its territorial ambitions, which led to war in 1962 over claims on the remote Aksai Chin area. India suffered a disastrous defeat. Nehru determined to build up India’s arms capability, but was opposed by the United States and Great Britain. He turned instead to the Soviet Union.
