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The Puffin History of India For Children Volume 2 (1947 to the Present)

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Item Code: IHL348
Author: Roshen Dalal
Publisher: A Puffin Original
Language: English
Edition: 2014
ISBN: 9780143335467
Pages: 433 (Illustrated Throughout In B/W with Maps)
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 7.8 Inch X 5.5 Inch
Weight 380 gm
Book Description

Introduction

While most students- are familiar with India’s history up to Independence, they do not know much about the period after 1947. In this book I have tried to provide an outline of India’s history politics and economic and social development after Independence, in a clear and readable way.

I have consulted various sources, too many to list here, but among the main books are:
Bipan Chandra et al, India after Independence; D.G. Tendulkar, Mahatma, Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 8 vols; Jawaharlal Nehru, Speeches, 5 vols; Patrick French, Liberty or Death: India’s journey to Independence and Division; Durga Das, India from Curzon to Nehru and After; S. Gopal, Jawaharlal Nehru, A Biography, vols 1-3; Jean Alphonse Bernard, Frorn Raj to the Republic; S.S. Gill, The Dynasty: A Political Biography if the Premier Ruling Family of Modern India; VP Menon, Integration of the Indian States; Penderel Moon, Divide and Quit; Mushirul Hasan, India’s Partition; Alok Bhalla, ed., Stories about the Partition of India; Urvashi Butalia, The Other Side if Silence; B.N. Mullik, My years with Nehru: The Chinese Betrayal; C.P. Srivastava, Lal Bahadur Shastri; Indira Gandhi, Speeches; Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi, A Biography; Rajiv Gandhi, Speeches; Ranbir Vohra, The Making of India; J.N. Dixit, India-Pakistan in War and Peace; Prakash Singh, Kohima to Kashmir; Paul R. Brass, The Politics if India since Independence; C.P. Bhambhri, Indian Politics since Independence, 2 vols; V.P. Dutt, Indians Foreign Policy; D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India.

Newspapers and magazines consulted include The Hindustan Times, the Times of India, the Hindu, India Today Outlook and Frontline. I have also consulted official web sites of government departments and political parties. Statistics and details on development vary in different sources; I have mainly used the reference annuals of the Publications Division of the Government of India, beginning with India 1953, up to India 2003; the 'Tata Statistical Outline; the 1991 and 2001 census; and the USA Statistical Abstracts.

I would like to thank the people who have contributed to this book in various ways.

Paul Vinay Kumar of Penguin India urged me to write this book for several years until I agreed. Nandini Mehta read through the manuscript and provided valuable suggestions and advice; my mother Nergis Dalal improved the language and expression; many of my Friends helped with information and sources, particularly Ardeshir Dalal, Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, Chanda Rani Akhouri, Ela Trivedi, Kapil Malhotra, Novy Kapadia, Rita Vohra and Shahnaz Arni Udayan Mitra of Penguin India consistently and patiently provided encouragement and advice through the various stages of writing this book.

In addition I would like to thank the Jawaharlal Nehru University Library and the Indian Council of Historical Research Library, as well as Ajanta Guhathakurta for the cover and design, Arun Pottirayil for the illustrations and Shivanand for preparing the final maps.

From the Flap

The companion volume to the best-selling The Puffin History of India for Children: 3000 BC- AD 1947, Roshen Dalal’s new history of post-Independence India tells the story of the making of the nation that we live in, and the events and personalities that have shaped it in recent times.

The Puffin History of India for Children; 1947 to the Present beings at a turning point of Indian history, as India attains independence and the British withdraw from the subcontinent.. Independent India’s first few years are eventful and epoch-making: before the traumas of Partition and of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi have fully subsided, the focus must shift to laying the blueprint of the new nation, with the making of the Constitution, the integration of the 565 princely states, the setting-up of the administrative, legislative and judiciary systems, and the establishment of an infrastructure for industry and agriculture. The author follows this key period in Indian history closely, from the first Republic Day celebrations in 1950 to the first general elections in 1952, and the implementation of the subsequent agendas for social and economic development envisaged by Jawaharlal Nehru.

In a lucid and informal style, the book then tells the fascinating story of India over the next fifty years, beginning with the premierships of Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi and proceeding to Jayaprakash Narayan and the Emergency, the ousting of the Congress party and the rule of the Janata government headed by Morarji Desai. The author describes the dramatic turnarounds of the 1980s and 90s, from Indira Gandhi’s return to power to her subsequent assassination, Rajiv Gandhi’s prime ministership, the governments of V.P. Singh and P.V. Narasimha Rao, and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rise to power, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee heading a National Democratic Alliance government. Along with periods of growth, the book looks closely at times of turbulence: the Indo-China War of 1962, the war with Pakistan in 1965, the 1971 Bangladesh War, and the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. it also analyses some issues that are key to the recent history of the nation: economic liberalization, the harmful effects of terrorism and sectarian movements on the national fabric, the Kargil conflict, India’s attainment of nuclear capability and its progress into the new millennium as the world’s largest democracy.

This is not merely a political history of India. It tells the story of India’s people-from an account of the social and economic changes that have taken place since independence, to art and culture in independent India. Colourful descriptions, informative nuggets and lively analyses make the book immensely readable. An attractive layout, profuse illustrations, detailed maps and a thorough index add to its value. A long chapter outlines the history of each individual state and union territory, full of information that will be invaluable to the student as well as the casual browser.

Well-researched, concise, unbiased and engaging this is a contemporary history of India that should be essential reading for children of all ages.

Roshen Dalal was born in Mussoorie in 1952 and studied in various schools. after a BA (Hons.) in History she completed an MA and PhD in Ancient Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has worked on various research projects in History, and has taught for two years at Jawaharlal Nehru University and for four years at Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh. The author of the best-selling The Puffin History of India for Children Volume 1, Roshen Dalal lives in New Delhi.

 

CONTENTS

 

  Introduction x
  A System of Numbers/Place Names xii
1 Republic Day 1
2 Freedom at Last 5
3 Political Conditions: 1947 11
4 The Indian States 19
5 Integration 27
6 Partition-—The Origins 32
7 Partition—The Reality 40
8 Administrative Division 46
9 Building a New Country 50
10 The First Eventful Year 54
11 The Spirit will Survive 63
12 Towards a Republic: 1948-50 70
13 Integration—The Second Stage 74
14 New Phase—The Constitution 82
15 The Government 91
16 The Parliament 93
17 The Union Executive 99
18 Government in the States 105
19 he Administrators 113
20 The judiciary 118
21 The First Elections 121
22 The Main Events: 1950-57 129
23 The Main Events: 1957-62 137
24 Internal Development: 1947-64 142
25 Vinoba Bhave and Bhudan 150
26 Foreign Policy: 1947-64 153
27 Nehru’s Last Years 163
28 Lal Bahadur Shastri: 1964-66 173
29 Indira Gandhi: The Early Years 181
30 Indira Takes Control 186
31 Bangladesh 191
32 The Centre and the States: 1966-75 195
33 Jayaprakash Narayan 201
34 The Emergency 204
35 Janata Government: 1977-79 211
36 Indira Gandhi: 1980-84 217
37 Internal Development: 1966-84 225
38 Foreign Policy: 1966-84 233
39 Rajiv Gandhi 240
40 Internal Development under Rajiv 251
41 Rajiv Gandhi—Foreign Policy 255
42 Minority Governments: 1989-90 263
43 Narasimha Rao: 1991-96 272
44 Foreign Policy: 1991-96 283
45 A New Government: 1996-98 293
46 The Bharatiya Janata Party 304
47 The National Democratic Alliance 309
48 The National Democratic Alliance Again 316
49 Foreign Policy after 1998 325
50 The States 335
51 The People: 1947-2002 364
52 Economy and Development 367
53 Social Change 389
54 Art and Culture 400
55 The Future 408
  Appendices 410
  Index 413

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