INDIA AFTER INDEPEPNDENCE
Three Major Challenges:
Independent India faced three kinds of challenges:
1. The first and immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the diversity in our society.
- Due to the large landscape (India is 7th largest Nation in terms of area), different cultures with different regions and religions, variety of spoken languages, many people widely believed that a country with such amount of diversity could not remain together for long.
2. The second challenge was to establish democracy.
- India adopted representative democracy based on the parliamentary form of government.
- These features strived to ensure that the political competition would take place in a democratic framework.
- The challenge was to develop democratic practices in accordance with the constitution.
3. The third challenge was to ensure inclusive development and well-being of the entire society.
- Due to the widespread poverty, the real challenge now was to evolve effective polices for economic development and eradication of poverty.
Immediate Problems:
- the territorial and administrative integration of the princely states,
- the communal riots that accompanied Partition,
- the rehabilitation of nearly six million refugees who had migrated from Pakistan,
- the protection of Muslims threatened by communal gangs,
- the need to avoid war with Pakistan
