Post-independence India and Contemporary World Affairs
Post-independence India and contemporary world affairs tests state-building, planned development, federalism, social change and India’s foreign policy. Expect questions on institutions, turning points and the reasons behind policy shifts.
State-building and economy
- Integration of princely states: Instrument of Accession; Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir; Goa (1961).
- Constitution (1950): parliamentary federalism, fundamental rights, directive principles; linguistic States Reorganisation Act (1956).
- Planning: Five-Year Plans, public-sector heavy industry, Green Revolution, White Revolution; 1991 liberalisation (LPG), GST (2017).
- Society: land reforms, Mandal Commission (1980), women’s movement, environmental movements such as Chipko and Narmada.
Foreign policy
Non-alignment, Panchsheel (1954), NAM; 1962 China war, 1965 and 1971 wars, Pokhran-I (1974) and Pokhran-II (1998); Look East/Act East; nuclear deal (2008); diaspora and multilateralism.
Worked example
Why were states reorganised on linguistic lines? Reasoning: mass movements in Andhra, Maharashtra and Punjab made language a mobilising identity; the States Reorganisation Commission accepted language as an administrative convenience while rejecting “one language, one state” absolutism. The result reduced some conflict but created new disputes over resources and borders.
Traps
Do not treat 1991 as a single-day rupture; avoid attributing every reform to one leader; distinguish constitutional provisions from statutory law; do not confuse non-alignment with neutrality or isolationism.