Post-Independence India and Contemporary World
What this domain tests
India's nation-building after 1947, the integration of princely states, linguistic reorganisation, planned development and India's place in the Cold War and globalised world.
Core concepts
- Integration: Junagadh, Hyderabad (police action 1948) and Kashmir; the States Reorganisation Act 1956.
- Maharashtra: the Samyukta Maharashtra movement led to Bombay State's bifurcation into Maharashtra and Gujarat on 1 May 1960.
- Development: Five-Year Plans, mixed economy, land reforms, Green Revolution and the public sector.
- Foreign policy: Non-Alignment, Bandung (1955), Belgrade (1961) and Panchsheel; later liberalisation (1991) and globalisation.
Worked example
Question: Why was Maharashtra formed in 1960 rather than 1956? Reasoning: the 1956 Act reorganised states largely on language but retained a bilingual Bombay State. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement demanded a Marathi-speaking state, while the Mahagujarat movement demanded Gujarat. Political agitation and the 1956 Act's incomplete settlement produced bifurcation on 1 May 1960. The answer must separate the linguistic principle from political negotiation.
Traps that cost marks
Saying India joined NAM at Bandung; treating all princely states as peacefully integrated; confusing 1956 with 1960; attributing the Green Revolution to a single technology; presenting globalisation as having no domestic debate.