India After Independence

by Bipan Chandra

The story of the forging of contemporary India, the world's largest democracy, is a rich and inspiring one. This volume analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved over the last five decades, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom. In doing so, it shows how unique the Indian experience is in the Third World combining development with democracy and civil liberties. seeking the widest possible consensus, as also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved and developed. Essential to the quest for consolidation of the nation was the integration of the princely states, the linguistic reorganization of the states, the integration of the tribals into the mainstream and the countering of regional imbalances. Among the other contentious issues considered here, with all their implications for the present situation, are India's foreign policy, party politics in the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, the growth of communalism, and anticaste politics and untouchability. There are detailed analyses of the Indian economy, including the reforms since 1991, the wide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution. These, along with the objective assessments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science, Historical, Academic

771 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Bipan Chandra (born 1928) is an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. He has specialized on the national movement. He is considered an authority on Modern Indian History and is one of its most popular scholars.

Source for information : Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipan_Ch... ) and for the Author's photograph : Penguin ( http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/c... )

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is supposed to be one of the most authoritative histories of the period, presented by a set of celebrated authors who were instrumental in authoring most of the text books of the academic curriculum (India). It is disappointing then to see that ideology colors even such a work. If you can stay away from the strong biases that run through most of the interpretative chapters, this is actually quite a good book read.

It provides a good contrast (counterpoint?) to Guha's history. It is quite stunning how history changes so radically from one book to the next. The two books tell of the same period but with such marked divergence. As a reader one can accept this transition with surprising ease since the story is not in the telling but in the leaving out, in the focusing of the searchlight on select incidents and in leaving the rest in the darkness. This strengthens my growing obsession with historiography and its many wonders. Has any fully illumined history of any period yet been written? I am yet to find one.

The next book in my romance with historiography might have some answers - History at the Limit of World-History. I am thoroughly excited to have stumbled on this one and am hoping to continue this review over there.

[Karthik Kavasseri · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far just feels like Congress propaganda... but I have nothing else to read here...

[Anshee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a pity that large parts of the book read like blatant propaganda...

[Tabrez Ahmad · Rating 2 out of 5]

biased writing supporting congress . seems to be written by congress leader

[Krishan Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors' obsession with left-leaning politics and an apparent Nehruvian bias, makes the book lose its charm. The book has been painted in a single colour which is so different from Chandra's previous work (ISFI) in the series. History, after reading this book, appears like, no facts and only opinions.
Although, the book was penned down some years ago, it would have been interesting to read their comments on the right-wing party coming with full majority at centre.
Nevertheless, Bipan Chandra's genius remains unparalleled with his objective analysis of Modern Indian planning and economy. The book doesn't flow like a story, like Guha's India after Gandhi, but is divided in separate phases and topics.
Overall, for its size and not-so-fluid content, this book is probably, not the best one for reading the Indian history since independence.

[Santhi Swaroop Godavari · Rating 1 out of 5]

An extremely biased work. If you are searching for an objective history of India post- Independence, this is NOT the book you refer to. Save some chapters on Land and tenancy Reforms, there is nothing great about this book. It is sad that such a hypocritical work is highly celebrated in academia.

[Akshay Gowda · Rating 1 out of 5]

All about Glorifying and Defending Nehru-Gandhis and Congress. extremely biased History from a Pro Congress writer

[Arjun Singh · Rating 1 out of 5]

900 pages just to kiss the ass of Nehru family is a bit too much...

[Ashish Falswal · Rating 2 out of 5]

As clearly mentioned in other comments, the book is not written in a neutral fashion as expected from an author of such a prominence and you may surely starts getting annoyed by the way justification is being provided to some of the most controversial decisions (&policies) of the past govts. Though author clearly tries to sideline from those policies but still at time it seems that he was trying to give them justification and that too vaguely absurd; which is surely not expected from a history book.
The author even neglects some of the prominent issues of time and barely touches them. It seems he was trying to influence our consciousness subtly and tries to prove that only a particular ideology as the most essential for overall development of a nation.
It is highly recommended to read the book(in case you still do) with a critical mindset or be cautious else reading such a hefty book might surely influence your critical thinking due to the biased character of the book.

[BNS · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended as one of the best books for Indian contemporary history. I too agree that this give you information about various events that shaped up Indian politics but not a holistic picture.

After going through this book, one can conclude that it is so biased towards congress and predominantly Nehru family. According to the author, the policies by congress government are the best and designed for development of poor (then why this huge disparity between poor and rich?). He highlighted elegantly the failures of opposition parties but not the congress leaders (one can observe this two sided face from the author's tone).

I recommend this book if someone looking to know various events that shaped contemporary India but urge the reader not to frame any opinion based on this. I request the contemporary historians not to provide this biased information as it will have an impact on coming generations.

[Kunal Kale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very much disappointed, don't want to give a reason.
It clearly indicates the writes wanted to get awards from Congress government or some sort of pension.
There are large parts of Indian economy and post independence issues not highlighted or intensionally neglected.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book and should be read by every Indian to learn about our history since Independence. Especially since the history books in our school tend to end on the cusp of independence. This is an apt time to update the book further seeing as the last update was in 2008. I wanted to read this book since I bought it in 2014 but only started reading it last year and after 8 months I finally finished it :D, It took me a long time just because it is a history book after all and you can't read it in one go. Well maybe you can but not this poor guy especially when the time is very up and down for me reading-wise. But still, I am able to read few pages here and there. So hopefully I would hope to keep on reading.

It is very sad to see that people rating the book low because of their political leaning, Communalism is bad for our country and if that is not clear to people now it would be clear when it has lead to our ruin. India is a secular country founded on the ideals of secular notions. Of course, all the writing would be colored by their experiences and thoughts. Just because it is left-leaning writing doesn't automatically makes it bad. It is a wonderful read and I could rate it 5 stars to counter those low ratings but no, rate the books on their strengths and not on based on your politics.

People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genres but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Jeeva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull, uninspiring and lackadaisical narrative. The author's commitment to his Congress leanings are not properly substantiated and hence the bias looks too apparent and unacceptable. A few chapters on land reforms and agriculture are well researched but the style is too dull and off putting. I am not sure how a great historian like Bipan could write such a mind numbing narrative. Please don't waste your time on this book if you want to learn Indian history post independence. Guha is better. You can try Kuldip Nayar too.

[Abhishek Rao · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavily biased towards left of center ideology..

[Krupal Sathyanarayana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A total Marxist interpretation,though some chapters are good.Hides all the flaws of the first PM and justifies emergency.Felt India after Gandhi of Guha as better and neutral source.

[Abraham Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5; Must and Necessary Read.
Addressing the elephant in the room; Yes the initial chapters feel like it glorifies Nehru to such an extreme end, that one might wonder if the book is biased. Looking past that, it’s a great book that documents and analyzes the work done by the Fathers of modern India, be it the creation of the constitution or defining the power and functions of various national/ state institutions. My favorite chapters were the ones that document some of the key events that revolutionized modern India.

That being said, there are large sections of chapters in the 3rd half of the books, that keep on repeating the same content. This added to the length of the book feels like a drag to just end it.

Thought I recommend the book as a must-read to all, the fact that the book deals with a board spectrum of topics relating to modern India, there would be some topics that might not be of interest to everyone. That will be something to bear with.

In the current times, I believe the book is a necessary read to ask yourself and question the events that are occurring in the governmental and political world.

[Deepak Goswami · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the book depicts the chronological episodes of contemporary history of India since independence but the author fails to rest his deep biasness for the Indian National Congress and especially its patriarch Jawaharlal Nehru. It's shocking to see how such a renowned author either fails to account many historical blunders of the successive Congress regimes at Centre or intentionally mellow downs them; to mention one in particular, the infamous Anti-Sikh Riots of 1984 has been described as something for which then PM designated Rajiv Gandhi couldn't have done anything about and how they were just a result of rage of downtrodden people and Congress Party had nothing to do with the incitement or conduction.

[Aakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive yet blatantly biased. They should have named it Nehru the Great. You end up feeling that Nehru is the only true statesman India ever had.

[Suhas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enclined towards "left" because it's history.. ;-)
Just another history book...

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It takes a special talent to eulogise IndiraG's economics, and exonerate RajivG and co for 1984 riots and hence this book has been like a textbook for civil services :P
There is a pro-Congress bias but a good read nonetheless and some sections r brilliant.
Also, my respect for Guha and his superb 'India after Gandhi' keeps growing. Atleast he hates every1 except Nehru equally :)
Along-with LK Advani's autobiography, the 3 books give u left-centre-right POV of India's history post independence.
Also started with the authors' book on India's freedom struggle.

[Nitesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Analytically written, hugely informative but a bit pro-congress!!

[Varchasva · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book that represents political history is critically biased towards left wing and is shifting the blame and forming the opinions and history is not supposed to be a opinion diary.

[Vignesh Narayanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a wildly interesting and informative read, spanning India's political, social and economic transformations through the decades. The process and enormous amount of efforts that were made to form the nations with resistance from Hyderabad Nizam, Nagaland and other North East states, Goa and Kashmir were fascinating, How Nehru awaited for peaceful resignation of the princely and colonial states and only marched in with paratroops and army when the negotiation failed; how the partition affected us, how India became a nuclear power, her enmity with Pakistan, her contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh; her efforts to maintain secularism though it failed miserably through the Indra Gandhi Era, the economic reforms through Manmohan Singh era, the amount of information in this book is mind boggling, a great book if you are not well versed with India's history and a good academic read for the candidates who prepare for their competitive exams.

However the problem I had with the book was for its heavy bias towards the Congress government, even though it addresses the undemocratic government during the emergency, it fails to treat it as harshly as it treated Communalism (that’s how it should be) – the major threat to India right now. The bias towards Congress or to put it more accurately towards Gandhi-an family is more evident when the book fails to credit other important leaders who played a crucial role in regional politics as well as national politics from the likes of PV Narasimha Rao, Periyar etc. and how the only progress and reforms it manages to address are the ones by the Union government and fails to acknowledge the immense contribution from the federal states mainly the economic and social justice reform that happened in TN and Kerala, it conveniently manages to consider the left as it’s ally and neglects/cancels the left’s opinion not just for it’s extremist reactions but also for its strong criticism of the government for the corruption and favouring the bourgeois. 

The constant utopian-like portrayal of the Nehru Government and its constant blame on government officials for the growth of corruption and its attempt to acquit all politicians that had a hand in it was a bit nauseating. 

What I would majorly agree with the book is how it and the Congress Government from the Nehru era treated Communalism (vis-a-vis - the RSS) to be the biggest threat of India, which if not addressed promptly and efficiently would shackle the foundation of our nation and constitution, which remains relevant in the contemporary times as we witness now to be happening under the Modi government.  

Ideally the title should have been India(n National Congress) Since Independece, it’s a must read for it’s historical accounts and research on other aspects if you could manage to forgive or overlook the vehement and constant Congress propaganda the book spews on you. It's a magnanimous book for it's length and topic it covers, took me a couple of months for me to finish this as I needed to take constant breaks and delve into fiction for the sheer amount of facts and information this one possesses.  

[Avinash Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkable journey of India to become world's largest successful democracy despite the pluralism of religion, caste,class, language and ethnicity is fluently and lucidly narrated by Guha is this 761 page manuscript. Fifteen years of secular federalism preached and practiced by Statesman Nehru with solitary state proprietorship cemented the roots of Indian democracy.Indomitable will and spirit put forward by Patel and Ambedkar for national integration and constitutional improvisation fertilized the soil for generations to come.

Attempts to promote common Hindu nationalist movement by right wing organisations to the ilk of VHP, RSS,Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and Jana Sangh failed initially but proselytization during late 1980's which lead to demolition of Babri Masjid followed by instigation of mass riots and minority massacre led to precipitation of discontent among Indian Muslims.

Ambivalence on Kashmir Issue by successive central governments led to waxing-waning conflicts on the fate of the Valley. Mass Rigging of ballots in 1987 local assembly polls inflicted local democrats to join separatist movements like JKLF and Harkat Ul -Mujahedeen with Azadi or subordination to to Pakistan respectively.

See-saw emotions credited to the fortunes of Indian Army due to loss of 1961 and 1988-90 against China and LTTE followed by victories during 1965 and 2002 Kargil conflict was further cherished by progressive improvised ingenious missile and nuclear test by DRDO emboldened the Prime Minister to demand permanent seat in United Nations Security Council. Integrity and self rightenousness of Civil servants retained by Patel displayed exemplary charisma and authority in controversial yet fruitful missions of refugee resettlement , integration of Princely States and State Re-organising Committee in 1956.

Turbulent clouds due to military insurgents in Nagaland since 1950 ( by Phizo followed by Isac Su and T. Muviah), Punjab 1980 and Kashmir 1990 and armed rebellion by Maoist in Central India ,Assam and Bihar gave nightmares to national integration.Credit to Rajiv Gandhi for settling these precarious issue of Nagaland and Punjab, though Kashmir conflict is still large to get negotiated.

SO called federal democratic nation India, which is anti-Imperialistic,non- Communist but socialist unlike Anglo-Saxon, with plurality did have unfortunate blot of 'mass pogrom' such as 1984 and 2002 riots against Punjabis and Muslims respectively by Hindu Chauvinists.But to see the greener side. cinema and cricket were soul healer of Indian working class consciousness which helped in bating the 'facism' of radical organisations.

Howard- Harrington theory not withstanding, India stands tall among nihilistic view of Western philosophers despite being a secular multilingual community. Liberalization of economy with abolition of 'license permit raj quota' led to acceleration of socio-economic denominators of well being among Indian middle class.Remarkable among them is the splendid growth in service sector ,especially the SOFTWARE boom in Indian Silicon Valley, Bangalore.

As long as regular demographic elections with intact socio-political framework are faithfully exercised, India will sail peacefully to prosperity despite encountering turbulent sea.

[Juned · Rating 2 out of 5]

Printing and binding is so bad.

[Pratibha Suku · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the book brought out the major events post independence but from such a proclaimed author who specializes in Political and Economic History such a strong bend to particular ideology and emphasis to a particular person was undigestable.
Nation building since 1947 is not just a person's initiative. Post independence years are glorified by the works of various leaders from all corners of country which one fails to see here. For glorifying a person one cannot take away the credits of others but sadly it happened in this book.

As a whole I find it dis-satisfactory in so many regards still chapters on land reform, women movement, communalism are fine.

[Aniruddha · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all things that have happened in the past 75 years since Independence, 700 pages aren’t enough to even scratch the surface, but for this book, authors have justified the liberal use of paper with an overload of statistics and undertones of socialism. There was a lot to chew through. Not sure if I’ve been wrong at grasping it but at certain stages it was even able to justify Emergency and write off the excesses as mere press reports. As with movies, sequels aren’t always a good idea. Skip it and read India after Gandhi perhaps, this might be too academic for a general person’s taste.

[Abby Varghese · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent work from celebrated authors who authored most of the textbooks for India's academic curriculum. It can be considered as the bible for UPSC preparations if you can stay away from the strong biases. It gives a clear picture of political, economic, social and constitutional scenario and struggles faced by the leaders in making today's India.

[Danish Haidar · Rating 5 out of 5]

dont attemp to interpret contemporary history without reading this book.

[Bipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but biased reading of history. Maybe because of all JNU writers.