‘India After Gandhi’ Review: 4 History Books In One!
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘India After Gandhi’ by Ramachandra Guha is like at least four non-fiction history books smashed into one! A great, easy-to-read (although just a teeny bit repetitive in parts) look at India’s political landscape between the 1940s and early 2000s. And to those who claim Ramachandra Guha sounds partisan and like a Nehru fanboy… well, maybe he does, but he also makes Indira Gandhi sound as the most corrupt, despotic Prime Minister we’ve (India) ever had. The ‘Iron Lady’ who turned Congress into a nepotistic, family-run business filled with sycophants. A tainted legacy that endures even today.
‘India After Gandhi’ was recommended to us by our journalism professors as part of an “additional reading list.” Wish I had read this book back then, but I rarely read non-fiction titles as a student. That said, it’s easy to see why professors would suggest journalism students read Ramachandra Guha. He has made almost seventy years of Indian history accessible in one book, meticulously crediting hundreds of historians, newspapers, authors, famous figures, and journalists in endless references. The “Notes” section alone in the book is book-sized, nearly 100 pages long.
Jawaharlal Nehru with Sardar Patel (Wikimedia Commons)From the historic first term of Jawaharlal Nehru as independent India’s first Prime Minister to the formation of the first non-Congress governments, ‘India After Gandhi’ traces how electoral democracy took root in a country as vast and diverse as India. It explores the gradual weakening of the Grand Old Party and how Morarji Desai rose to become the nation’s first non-Congress Prime Minister. The book is a burst of political intrigue. For those who have closely followed India’s politics, culture, and religious tensions, it might not offer many new revelations. But for younger readers, this mammoth work is a treasure trove of insight into modern India.
Despite what the title might suggest, ‘India After Gandhi’ doesn’t begin strictly after Gandhi’s death in January 1948. Instead, the first chapter, titled ‘Freedom and Parricide‘, opens with the events of August 15, 1947, when India gained independence from British rule. The author then delves into the horrific communal riots between Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs that followed the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan, dedicating an entire chapter to ‘The Logic of Division‘. Naturally, the Kashmir dispute, long a point of tension between India and Pakistan, receives significant attention, as the book explores how it has shaped India’s geopolitical landscape.
For me, the most impactful sections of ‘India After Gandhi’ are the chapters that highlight how Indian leaders worked tirelessly to unify the many small states and princely kingdoms into a single nation. They defied the expectations of foreign observers and critics who believed India would eventually fragment into multiple independent nations, much like parts of Europe. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel emerge as the two towering political figures who made this possible in the early years.
Given India’s current political climate, it’s understandably difficult for many to view the Congress party in a favorable light. But a closer look at history reveals that being independent India’s first Prime Minister was hardly a role to envy. As I mentioned at the start of this review, critics of ‘India After Gandhi’ often accuse Ramachandra Guha of being a Nehru loyalist. However, considering Jawaharlal Nehru held office for an unprecedented 16 years and 286 days, the longest tenure of any Indian Prime Minister, it’s only natural that he occupies significant space in the book. That record may eventually be broken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, if he runs again in the 2029 general elections, could surpass both Nehru and Indira Gandhi as the longest-serving PM.
Which brings me to Indira Gandhi, the next major political figure who features prominently in ‘India After Gandhi’, largely due to her long tenure as Prime Minister, which included the pivotal creation of Bangladesh. Guha strikes an interesting balance in his portrayal of Indira, acknowledging her bold, decisive political moves while also highlighting the corruption and nepotism that tainted her leadership. There’s a clear contrast between Nehru’s statesmanlike approach and his daughter’s increasingly autocratic style, especially during the infamous Emergency period, imposed when her political position was under threat.
Just as Indira Gandhi is credited for India’s role in the creation of Bangladesh, the Kargil War victory under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership is also acknowledged with pride. ‘India After Gandhi’ makes an important observation about how the Indian Army has consistently remained apolitical, unlike its counterpart in neighboring Pakistan.
If there is one non-Prime Ministerial leader whose legacy stands out in ‘India After Gandhi’, it is that of B. R. Ambedkar, India’s First Minister for Law and Justice, a highly revered social reformer who championed the cause of those oppressed by the caste system. In several chapters, the author writes about the political movements inspired by Ambedkar, and how his political legacy endures decades after his death.
From the unrest in Kashmir and strained relations with China to secessionist movements across states, linguistic divides, communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and the unexpected rise of communist parties in Kerala and West Bengal, ‘India After Gandhi’ offers a chronological account of the many complex challenges that have tested Indian governments over the decades. That India has endured and survived what many believed would tear it apart stands as a testament to the resilience and spirit of its people.
If you don’t read a lot of non-fiction either, but are curious about Indian history and how its politics shaped the country, this is a brilliant place to start. Perhaps in the future, I will revisit ‘India After Gandhi’ again, something I almost never do (read a book twice).
Rating: 5 on 5 stars.
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