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Challenges of Nation Building
Class 12 Political Science Chapter 1 Notes

Here we provide notes for the first chapter of Class 12 Political Science, “Challenges of Nation Building.” This chapter explores the key features of the Challenges of Nation Building.

These notes will prove useful for students preparing for this year’s board exams. Presented in simple and organized language, this material will help you quickly review the chapter and remember key points.

Challenges of Nation Building

Independence and the two-nation theory

  1. India gained independence in 1947 after 200 years of British rule.
  2. The Cabinet Mission recommended that India be divided into two parts, one Pakistan and the other India.
  3. The princely states were given the right to join either India or Pakistan, or remain independent, as they wished. Later, under the Wavell Plan, the country of Pakistan was created on August 14th.
  4. India was granted independence on August 15th, 1947. This division is known as the two-nation theory.
  5. During the freedom struggle, there was consensus on two things:

i) After independence, the country would be governed democratically.

ii) The government would work for all sections of society.

At midnight between August 14th and 15th, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru announced India’s independence through a “pre-eminent meeting” with his wife.

Challenges of Independent India (India after 1947)

India faced three challenges after independence in 1947:-

1. The challenge of unity and integrity (binding in the thread of unity)

  1. To unite all the princely states and create a unified India.
  2. To unite people of different languages, religions, and cultures so that India’s sovereignty remains intact.
  3. To build a prosperous India.
  4. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a key role in meeting this challenge.

2. Establishing democracy

  1. Giving people the right to vote and contest elections.
  2. Establishing an independent and impartial Election Commission in the country through the Constitution.
  3. Giving fundamental rights to every citizen.
  4. Conducting free and fair elections in the country on time.
  5. Establishing a parliamentary and representative democracy within the country as per the Constitution.

3. Development based on equality

  1. To extend all amenities to the lowest rung of society.
  2. Eliminating discrimination and practicing equality. Providing special privileges to disadvantaged groups, minorities, and other backward communities.
  3. The impact of development should be equally felt by all sections of society.
  4. More emphasis should be placed on agriculture and industry for development work in the country.
  5. Adopting a socialist-liberal model for development.
  6. Establishing a National Finance Commission through the Constitution and implementing five-year plans for long-term development in the country.

Partition of India

  1. The Muslim League argued for the adoption of the “Two-Nation Theory,” arguing that India belonged not to a single community but to two communities: Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, the Muslim League demanded a separate country for Muslims, Pakistan.
  2. Religious majority was used as the basis for the partition of India.
  3. This led to a number of problems.

(i) Pakistan would comprise two regions, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, based on the Muslim population.

(ii) Not every Muslim-majority region agreed to join Pakistan. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the leader of the North-West Frontier Province, known as “Frontier Gandhi,” was completely opposed to the “Two-Nation Theory.”

(iii) Many parts of Punjab and Bengal, the Muslim-majority provinces of British India, had a majority non-Muslim population. In such a situation, these provinces were divided based on religious majority, using administrative areas at the district or lower level.

(iv) India was divided solely on the basis of religion. Therefore, minorities on both sides were deeply confused about what would happen to them. From tomorrow, they would become citizens of India or Pakistan.

Partition problem

  1. The Partition Plan did not specify the displacement of minorities from both parts. Even before the partition, Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in the divided areas of both countries.
  2. Non-Muslim minorities living in West Punjab were forced to leave their homes, land, and property and migrate to India to save their lives, and similarly, some Muslims were forced to migrate to Pakistan.
  3. The Partition process not only divided India’s land but also India’s wealth.
  4. India inherited the problem of refugee rehabilitation as a result of independence and partition.
  5. Rehabilitation was implemented with great restraint. A Ministry of Rehabilitation was established to address the need for refugee rehabilitation.

Consequences of Partition

  1. People were forced to abandon their homes and property.
  2. A large number of people were victims of violence.
  3. Communal riots broke out in Amritsar and Kolkata.
  4. Rehabilitation of refugees was a problem.
  5. Women and children were subjected to severe atrocities.
  6. Forced marriages and forced religious conversions were witnessed against women.
  7. 80 lakh people were forced to flee their homes.
  8. 5-10 lakh people died.

merger of princely states

  1. Before independence, India was divided into two parts: British India and the Princely States.
  2. These princely states numbered approximately 565.
  3. Sardar Patel (Home Minister) played a historic role in persuading the rulers of the princely states, convincing most of them to join the Indian Union.
  4. The Cabinet Mission stipulated that they could join either India or Pakistan while remaining independent.
  5. The people of most princely states wanted to join the Indian Union.
  6. The Indian government was willing to grant some autonomy to some areas.
  7. In the wake of Partition, tensions over the demarcation of various territories were intensifying, and the question of the country’s territorial unity and integrity became paramount.
  8. The rulers of most princely states signed an agreement to merge with the Indian Union. This agreement is known as the Instrument of Accession.
  9. The integration of the princely states of Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Manipur proved to be a little more difficult than the other states.
  10. But all four were later incorporated into India in different ways.

Hyderabad merged with India

  1. In 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad declared independence.
  2. The Hyderabad State was a large state surrounded on all sides by Indian territory.
  3. The ruler of Hyderabad was known as the Nizam.
  4. The people of Hyderabad State launched a movement against the Nizam’s rule. Farmers from the Telangana region, unhappy with the Nizam’s rule, also protested against the Nizam.
  5. The city of Hyderabad had become a stronghold of the movement, so the Nizam sent his paramilitary force, the Razakars, to suppress the movement.
  6. The Razakars targeted non-Muslims in the Hyderabad State and carried out acts of looting, murder, and rape.
  7. After receiving information about these incidents, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with the help of the Indian Army, launched military action against the Nizam in 1948. Seeing this, the Nizam surrendered.
  8. Thus, the Hyderabad State was merged with India based on military action.

Annexation of the princely state of Manipur

  1. To ensure Manipur’s internal autonomy, a Memorandum of Accession was signed between Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh and the Government of India.
  2. Under public pressure, elections were held in June 1948, resulting in the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
  3. Manipur was the first part of India to hold elections under the principle of universal adult franchise, held in June 1948.
  4. Ultimately, the Government of India succeeded in merging Manipur into the Indian Union.

Reorganisation of States

  1. During colonial rule, provinces were formed for administrative convenience, but in independent India, there was a demand for the formation of states based on linguistic and cultural diversity.
  2. The political issue of the formation of provinces based on language was first raised at the Nagpur session of the Congress (1920).
  3. Telugu-speaking people demanded that the Telugu-speaking areas of Madras province be separated and a new state, Andhra Pradesh, be created.
  4. During the movement, Potti Sri Ramulu, a senior Congress leader, died after a hunger strike of approximately 56 days.
  5. This forced the government to announce the creation of a separate state, Andhra Pradesh, in December 1952. Thus, Andhra Pradesh became the first state formed on a linguistic basis.
  6. In 1953, the Central Government constituted a three-member States Reorganization Commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Fazal Ali.

Major recommendations of the Commission

1) The three-tier (Part A, B, C) state system should be abolished.

2) Except for three Union Territories (Andaman and Nicobar, Delhi, Manipur), all other Union Territories should be merged with their neighboring states.

3) The boundaries of states should be determined based on the language spoken there.

This commission submitted its report in 1955, and on its basis, the States Reorganization Act of 1956 was passed in Parliament, dividing the country into 14 states and six union territories.

This Chapter in Hindi Medium

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