Challenges of Nation Building — Practice

Question 1

How was the state of Hyderabad integrated into the Indian Union?

Accepted Answer

INTEGRATION OF HYDERABAD: Hyderabad was India's largest princely state, ruled by the Nizam (Mir Osman Ali Khan). The Nizam refused to accede to India and wanted INDEPENDENCE. He maintained an irregular force (the Razakars) who carried out violence against Hindus in the state. Sardar Patel (Deputy PM and Home Minister) and the Indian government gave the Nizam time to accede — but he refused. In September 1948, India launched 'POLICE ACTION' (Operation Polo) under General J.N. Chaudhuri. The Indian Army moved into Hyderabad on September 13, 1948. Within 5 days (by September 17), the Nizam's forces surrendered. No plebiscite was held — unlike Junagadh. The speed of the operation and the Nizam's surrender made a referendum unnecessary. Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union. It was eventually divided into three parts: Andhra Pradesh (Telugu-speaking), Karnataka (Kannada-speaking), and Maharashtra (Marathi-speaking) during the linguistic reorganisation of 1956.

Question 2

What was the States Reorganisation Commission? What was its significance for Indian federalism?

Accepted Answer

STATES REORGANISATION COMMISSION (SRC): Set up by the Government of India in 1953, under Fazal Ali (chairman), K.M. Panikkar, and H.N. Kunzru. Its mandate: to examine the question of reorganising India's states and recommend a basis for redrawing boundaries. CONTEXT: The demand for linguistic states — states drawn along the lines of a shared language — had been growing since independence. The Congress had promised linguistic states during the freedom movement. The death of POTTI SRIRAMULU (December 1952), who fasted unto death for a Telugu state, had forced the government to create Andhra Pradesh (1953) — India's first linguistic state. This created pressure for a comprehensive solution. RECOMMENDATIONS: The SRC submitted its report in 1955, recommending that states be reorganised primarily on LINGUISTIC LINES. This was accepted with some modifications. IMPLEMENTATION (1956): The States Reorganisation Act reorganised India into 14 states and 6 Union Territories on November 1, 1956. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh took shape in their present form. SIGNIFICANCE FOR FEDERALISM: (1) Met deep cultural aspirations — people could be governed in their own language. (2) States became more homogeneous internally, making governance more effective. (3) Defused separatist movements — the demand for a Dravidian nation dropped after Tamil Nadu was established. (4) Created a MORE AUTHENTIC FEDERALISM — states that represented real cultural and linguistic communities, not the arbitrary divisions of British India. NCERT CONCLUSION: Linguistic reorganisation STRENGTHENED national unity — contrary to the fears of those like Nehru who worried it would fragment India.

Question 3

India's survival and unity after independence has been described as a 'miracle.' Discuss the three major challenges India faced at independence and how they were addressed.

Accepted Answer

INDIA AT INDEPENDENCE — CONTEXT: On August 15, 1947, India became independent under conditions that made its survival deeply uncertain. Winston Churchill had called India 'a geographical expression, no more a nation than the equator.' India had to prove him wrong. THREE CHALLENGES AND THEIR RESOLUTION: CHALLENGE 1 — NATIONAL UNITY: India faced centrifugal forces that could have torn it apart. (a) PRINCELY STATES: 565 princely states (40% of territory) were technically independent. Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon integrated all but three by August 15, 1947, through a combination of persuasion, negotiation, and force where necessary. Junagadh (plebiscite), Hyderabad (Police Action, 1948), and Kashmir (Instrument of Accession, 1947 — still contested) were the three difficult cases. (b) LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY: Fear that linguistic states would fragment India proved unfounded — the SRC (1956) reorganised states on linguistic lines, which actually reduced regional grievances and strengthened unity. ASSESSMENT: National unity was preserved — though Kashmir remains unresolved. The Partition left a permanent wound. But the Indian state demonstrated remarkable capacity for integration. CHALLENGE 2 — ESTABLISHING DEMOCRACY: India chose UNIVERSAL ADULT FRANCHISE from the very first election (1952) — a bold decision given that most Indians were illiterate and poor. The first general election was conducted peacefully and fairly, with 173 million voters. The Congress won overwhelmingly, but the process was democratic. Over decades, India built the institutions of democracy — judiciary, free press, independent election commission — that have generally sustained competitive elections. India's democratic journey has not been without crises (the Emergency of 1975–77 was a serious test) — but democracy has survived and been restored. CHALLENGE 3 — DEVELOPMENT: India chose a 'mixed economy' — the state would lead heavy industrialisation through the Planning Commission and Five Year Plans, while the private sector operated in consumer goods and services. The result was modest but real progress: an industrial base was built, food self-sufficiency was achieved through the Green Revolution, and primary education expanded. However, growth was slow (~3.5% 'Hindu rate of growth') and poverty remained massive — a criticism that drove the 1991 economic reforms. OVERALL ASSESSMENT: India's survival as a unified, democratic, developing nation was NOT inevitable. The scale of the challenges — Partition's trauma, 565 princely states, mass illiteracy and poverty, multiple languages and religions — made it genuinely extraordinary that India held together and sustained democracy. The credit belongs to the founding leaders (Nehru, Patel, Ambedkar, Gandhi's legacy) and to India's Constitution, which provided a framework for managing diversity through institutional channels.

Practice — Challenges of Nation Building

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