Politics of India
Supreme Court
- original jurisdiction over federal matters - appellate jurisdiction (can hear appeals from high courts) - advisory jurisdiction (can hear cases referred by President) - special leave to appeal (any litigant may appeal directly to Supreme Court for a decision of any court in the land) - recently accused of being political and nepotistic
How democratic was India during Indira Gandhi's early years?
- populism --- enhancement of democratic representation (populist socialist initiatives, forged direct connection with indian population) - centralization of power --- degradation of democratic institutions (drive toward personalization of central power)
Sanjay Gandhi
- second son of Indira gandhi - troubled - 5 point plan
Bangladesh War
- tensions between East and West Pakistan bc of colonial exploitation of East by West, Bengali language suppression, discrimination against Bengalis in gov jobs - protests, demonstrations, strikes in East Pakistan, leading to clashes with police - military crackdown form West Pakistan forces (mass graves, targeted university students, middle class, intelligentsia) - outpouring of refugees to India
Features of the judiciary
- unified - power of judicial review - independent from legislature and executive
Creation of Linguistic States
-Telugu of Andhra, led by Andhra Mahasabha in Madras and Hyderabad - 58 day fast by Potti Sriramulu, death brought protests and Nehru had to concede, creating Andhra Pradesh
Independence Day
August 15th, 1947 - Tyst with Destiny speech - visions in speech: unity, growing economy, revival and renewal, patriotism and nationalism, equality for all religions, internal peace, prioritize the poor, democracy, etc
Vallabhbhai Patel
Deputy PM of India - lawyer - known for success in accession of princely states
"Garbi hatao"
Indira's slogan to rid of poverty
Rajya Sabha
Upper House (Council of States) - indirectly elected (PR and electoral college) - most members elected by MLAs, population based - 12 members nominated by President - staggered 6 yr term
Indian Administrative Service
multiple layers of bureaucracy as there are national and state levels - became politicized - top highly talented but middle and lower tiers are highly corrupted
Indian Police Service
national and state police, all the way to local constables - highly politicized, complicit corruption -police involved in riots and public unrest (attack minorities, violent against peaceful demonstrators, provokes cycles of violence)
Indira Gandhi
only child of Nehru - most controversial figure - longest period as PM - world's second female head of state - "Garibi hatao"
Janet Party (Bharatiya Janata Party)
only party to defeat congress, only ruled for 3 years - later joined other rightist political parties to become BJP
regional parties
some won over congress within their regions
Lal Bahadur Shastri
successor of Nehru, died same year from heart attack after Indo-Pakistan War
Conversion
the changed enactment of existing rules due to their strategic redeployment - state of emergency, appointment of allies, dynast of the Gandhi's
Drift
the changed impact of existing rules due to shifts in the environment - EX congress (I), IG Re election, dynasty
Layering
the introduction of new rules on top of or alongside existing ones - EX 2 congresses, constitutional amendments, empowerment of secretariat
Displacement
the removal of existing rules and the introduction of new ones - EX 2 congresses, nationalization of banks
Muslim League
political party that led movement calling for a separate Muslim nation - founded to protect/safeguard rights of Indian Muslims
China Civil War
"Hindi-chini bhai bhai" - Aggression in Tibet - Patel's suspicions and Nehru's underestimation - Border disputes --- Sino-Indian War of 1962
Potti Sriramulu
political figure who died from a hunger fast in the protest of a linguistic state, Andhra Pradesh
Indian Military
- Army, air force, navy - President is commander in chief - ministers of defense and finance - 3rd largest standing military in world
Bureaucracy
- Indian Civil Service - All Indian Services (Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, and Indian Police Service
"Satyagraha"
Gandhi's civil disobedience
1971 elections
- indira called elections early - changed party name to Congress (I) - campaign mix of cult of personality and socialist slogans (garibi hatao) - congress won
Indian Military Composition
- initially lower caste, upper then joined - "Martial race theory" - 1920s, inidanizing the army - military service as means of social mobility
Panchayati Raj
- local self gov - local plans for econ development, social justice, tax collection, etc - elected every 5 yrs - What has it done? brought gov closer to people, but can increase corruption, worsen SEP inequality and is subject to capture by elites
Why has there never been a military coup?
- military hasn't been politicized - Nehru's personal dislike of military and resulting policies (Army chiefs are equal to air force and naval, abolished position of joint command of the forces, focus on econ growth instead of defense spending) - civilian head: president - india's size and complexity, no one can identify close enough to a large group of others to mobilize - legitimacy and integrity of the political system - military traditions (professionalism and leadership)
Roles of Military
- nation building (princely state integration) - external defense (chinese war) - internal security (Jammu and Kashmir)
Challenges to consolidating independent democratic India
- building institutions (elections, constitution, inherited bureaucratic structure) - party-building - refugee crisis - communalism and shadow of Partition - "unnatural nation" (diversity, no national identity) - international relations (Non alignment policy, Pakistan, China)
Mahatma Gandhi
- nationalist, president of INC - created civil disobedience while in South Africa - lawyer - leader of independence movement - called Bapu
Indira's Turn to the right
- evidence of authoritarian turn (replacement of Chief Ministers and civil servants with indiras favs/loyalists, interfering with judiciary) - nepotism (sanjay's rise to prominence) - corruption (congress officials and bureaucrats seeking graft) - anti corruption movement
Indira's Leftward Turn
- implemented her own advisors - garibi hate - direct connection with the people - nationalization of banks
Congress Party Split
- Congress (O) and Congress (R), later turned into Congress (I) - syndicate expelled her from congress for not supporting Giri for president over Congress candidate Reddy
Assessing Nehru
- Failures: neglect of agriculture, neglect of primary education, neglect of social development, defeat in the Sino-Indian War - Achievements: freedom, consolidation of the Indian nation-state, accommodates ethnic diversity and demands without sacrificing a centralized national state, routinization of democracy, Science and technology, higher education, India's prominence in global politics
Turning points in independence and partition
- Gandhi-Jinnah Talks (Gandhi and Jinnah disagreed on Two-Nation Theory, talks broke down after 5 days) - Simla Talks (Convened to agree on and approve the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government, it reached a potential agreement for the self-rule of India that provided separate representation for Muslims and reduced majority powers for both communities in their majority regions. The Muslim League refused any plan to allow the INC to appoint Muslim representatives) - Cabinet Mission 1946 (provisional legislative council elections occurred in British India Election results were seen as sweeping victory for Muslim League as Muslim community showed them great support, legitimizing them, new proposal by British; largely autonomous Muslim states in NW and NE India )
State of Emergency
- Indira called emergency during her Supreme Court challenge for election fraud, in which under emergency rule the PM could rule by decree (without challenge) - Suspended elections - Revoked civil liberties - Press censorship - Preventive imprisonment of opposition leaders - Amendments passed to give her more power - Consequences: suspension of democracy, further deinstitutionalization of Indian gov, brutal policies, consolidation of opposition after decades of single party dominance
Raijiv Gandhi
- Indira's first son, came into politics after death of Sanjay
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Joined INC as muslim - lawyer - joined Muslim League and became leader - disapproved of civil disobedience - resigned from INC
State Gov
- Legislative body = Vidhan Sabha or the State Legislative Assembly - equivalent of Lok Sabha, all states have one - Chief Minister - Governor: appointed by Pres on advice of PM, more powerful at state level than Pres is at the center - more trust in state gov than central
Lok Sabha v Rajya Sabha
- Lok sabha more powerful: controls finance, can bring a motion of no confidence against gov - L directly elected, R indirectly elected - L has total turnover, R has continuity
States Reorganization Commission
- No secessionist demands - No automatic granting of statehood on the basis of language w/o popular demand - Only linguistic states, not ethnic states or religious states - Tricky situation = Sikhs minority in Punjab (Hindu majority)
Accession of Princely States
- Over 500 princely states prior to Independence - British East India Trading Company cut a deal that maharajahs of each state could continue to serve administrative functions as long as British controlled territory - Question of how to get princely state maharajahs to give power back up to India - Mountbadden and Patel (and his secretary) went around all princely states and subtly threatened them to give up their power or risk aggression from the military - Jammu and Kashmir, military conflict, "disputed territory"
Punjab communal violence
- between hindus and sikhs - fortification of Golden Temple by separatists - Indian troops attack Golden Temple in "Operation Bluestar" - Indira assassination oct 31
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
- build up of forces along the border - Pakistan launched airstrikes on 11 Indian airbases - India retaliates with full scale invasion via land, air, sea - 13 days long, Pakistan surrenders
Opposition rule
1977 indira called for elections - Janata Party won, short lived rule for 3 years, then indira returned to power - fractured, complex disagreements, ineffectiveness, corruption
Jawaharlal Nehru
1st PM of independent India - president of INC 1930 - adopted Gandhi's civil disobedience
Sanjay during Emergency
5 points plan: family planning, afforestation, abolition of dowry, eradication of illiteracy, slum clearance
Council of Ministers
Exec branch - led by PM - Cabinet Ministers - Ministers of State - All ministers are MPs - Cabinet Secretary ---senior civil servant who selects the secretariat (secretariat advises council and PM)
Why didn't the granting of linguistic states tear India apart?
Granted from a position of central power - Nehru's strategic delay (1947-1956) was crucial to consolidating the center
Prime Minister
Head of Gov - majority party chooses PM - PM selects members of cabinet - PM often leader of majority party but not always - main decision maker along with the Cabinet
President
Head of State - commander in chief - ceremonial head - constitution gives him all exec power but in reality it is exercised by PM - indirectly elected by MPs of both houses - election offset from Lok Sabha election cycle - not a member of a political party
Partition
Jinnah against partition, students in london introduced partition to him, still disapproves of idea - People worried about Hindu India because of Gandhi's popularity, Muslim League promoted partition to safeguard Muslim rights, Jinnah got on board 30s - when india is trying to gain independence from Britain - Muslim league created conflict, British recognized inevitability of partition and supported it
Lord Mountbatten
Last viceroy of British Indian Empire - huge part in negotiating Partition and Independence
Lok Sabha
Lower House (House of Commons) - directly elected - single member constituencies, population based - first-past-the-post electoral rules - 5 yr term, month long elections
Indian National Congress
Major political party - originally created by British elite - pivotal in independence movement - democratic party of india
Shastri Interregnum
Naga Rebellion (Naga rebels saying they weren't part of nation, bloody conflict) - Granted Punjabi linguistic statehood (largely Sikhs) - China's Nuclear Tests - War with Pakistan - National language (Hindi, but such backlash he changed it back to Hindi and English) - Food shortages
