History of India- an Overview

History of India- An Overviewheaded the Janata Party, an amalgam of five
   The people of India have had aopposition parties.
continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the    In 1979, Desai's Government
inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed ancrumbled. Charan Singh formed an interim
urban culture based on commerce and sustained bygovernment, which was followed by Mrs. Gandhi's
agricultural trade. This civilization declined around 1500return to power in January 1980. On October 31,
B.C., probably due to ecological changes.1984, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated, and her son,
    During the second millennium B.C.,Rajiv, was chosen by the Congress (I)--for
pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the"Indira"--Party to take her place. His government was
northwest into the subcontinent. As they settled inbrought down in 1989 by allegations of corruption and
the middle Ganges River valley, they adapted towas followed by V.P. Singh and then Chandra
antecedent cultures.Shekhar.
    The political map of ancient and    In the 1989 elections, although Rajiv
medieval India was made up of myriad kingdoms withGandhi and Congress won more seats in the 1989
fluctuating boundaries. In the 4th and 5th centurieselections than any other single party; he was unable
A.D., northern India was unified under the Guptato form a government with a clear majority. The
Dynasty. During this period, known as India's GoldenJanata Dal, a union of opposition parties, was able to
Age, Hindu culture and political administration reachedform a government with the help of the
new heights.Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the
    Islam spread across the Indianright and the communists on the left. This loose
subcontinent over a period of 500 years. In the 10thcoalition collapsed in November 1990, and the
and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded Indiagovernment was controlled for a short period by a
and established sultanates in Delhi. In the early 16thbreakaway Janata Dal group supported by Congress
century, descendants of Genghis Khan swept across(I), with Chandra Shekhar as Prime Minister. That
the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal (Mogul)alliance also collapsed, resulting in national elections in
Dynasty, which lasted for 200 years. From the 11thJune 1991.
to the 15th centuries, southern India was dominated    On May 27, 1991, while campaigning
by Hindu Chola and Vijayanagar Dynasties. During thisin Tamil Nadu on behalf of Congress (I), Rajiv Gandhi
time, the two systems--the prevailing Hindu andwas assassinated, apparently by Tamil extremists
Muslim--mingled, leaving lasting cultural influences onfrom Sri Lanka. In the elections, Congress (I) won
each other.213 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition,
    The first British outpost in Southreturning to power under the leadership of P.V.
Asia was established in 1619 at Surat on theNarasimha Rao. This Congress-led government, which
northwestern coast. Later in the century, the Eastserved a full 5-year term, initiated a gradual process
India Company opened permanent trading stations atof economic liberalization and reform, which has
Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, each under theopened the Indian economy to global trade and
protection of native rulers.investment. India's domestic politics also took new
    The British expanded their influenceshape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and
from these footholds until, by the 1850s, theyethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally
controlled most of present-day India, Pakistan, andbased political parties.
Bangladesh. In 1857, a rebellion in north India led by    The final months of the Rao-led
mutinous Indian soldiers caused the British Parliamentgovernment in the spring of 1996 were marred by
to transfer all political power from the East Indiaseveral major political corruption scandals, which
Company to the Crown. Great Britain begancontributed to the worst electoral performance by
administering most of India directly while controllingthe Congress Party in its history. The Hindu-nationalist
the rest through treaties with local rulers.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged from the May
    In the late 1800s, the first steps1996 national elections as the single-largest party in
were taken toward self-government in British Indiathe Lok Sabha but without enough strength to prove
with the appointment of Indian councilors to advisea majority on the floor of that Parliament. Under
the British viceroy and the establishment of provincialPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition
councils with Indian members; the British subsequentlylasted in power 13 days. With all political parties
widened participation in legislative councils. Beginning inwishing to avoid another round of elections, a
1920, Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi transformed14-party coalition led by the Janata Dal emerged to
the Indian National Congress political party into aform a government known as the United Front,
mass movement to campaign against British colonialunder the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, H.D.
rule. The party used both parliamentary andDeve Gowda. His government lasted less than a
nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to achieveyear, as the leader of the Congress Party withdrew
independence.his support in March 1997. Inder Kumar Gujral
    On August 15, 1947, India becamereplaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for
a dominion within the Commonwealth, with JawaharlalPrime Minister of a 16-party United Front coalition.
Nehru as Prime Minister. Enmity between Hindus and    In November 1997, the Congress
Muslims led the British to partition British India,Party in India again withdrew support for the United
creating East and West Pakistan, where there wereFront. New elections in February 1998 brought the
Muslim ajorities. India became a republic within theBJP the largest number of seats in
Commonwealth after promulgating its constitution onParliament--182--but fell far short of a majority. On
January 26, 1950.March 20, 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led
    After independence, the Congresscoalition government with Vajpayee again serving as
Party, the party of Mahatma Gandhi and JawaharlalPrime Minister. On May 11 and 13, 1998, this
Nehru, ruled India under the influence first of Nehrugovernment conducted a series of underground
and then his daughter and grandson, with thenuclear tests forcing U.S. President Clinton to impose
exception of two brief periods in the 1970s andeconomic sanctions on India pursuant to the 1994
1980s.Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act.
    Prime Minister Nehru governed India    In April 1999, the BJP-led coalition
until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by Lalgovernment fell apart, leading to fresh elections in
Bahadur Shastri, who also died in office. In 1966,September. The National Democratic Alliance-a new
power passed to Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi,coalition led by the BJP-gained a majority to form the
Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977. In 1975, beset withgovernment with Vajpayee as Prime Minister in
deepening political and economic problems, Mrs.October 1999. Now Sri Manmohan Singh is a Prime
Gandhi declared a state of emergency andMinister of India. The Government was formed in
suspended many civil liberties. Seeking a mandate at2004. This is called as UPA (United Progressive
the polls for her policies, she called for elections inAlliance). The Chairperson of UPA is Mss. Sonia Gandhi.
1977, only to be defeated by Moraji Desai, who