With independence, the Indian National Congress, now
renamed the Congress Party, moved from opposition to
the responsibility of power under Jawaharlal Nehru, the
new prime minister. The prospect must have been intimidating.
The vast majority of India’s 400 million people
were poor and illiterate. The new nation encompassed a
bewildering number of ethnic groups and fourteen major
languages. Although Congress leaders spoke bravely of
building a new nation, Indian society still bore the scars
of past wars and divisions.
The government’s first problem was to resolve disputes
left over from the transition period. The rulers of Hyderabad
and Kashmir had both followed their own preferences
rather than the wishes of their subject populations.
Nehru was determined to include both states within India.
In 1948, Indian troops invaded Hyderabad and annexed
the area. India was also able to seize most of Kashmir,
but at the cost of creating an intractable problem
that has poisoned relations with Pakistan to the present
day.
World History
