Modern India: Post-Independence History — Five Year Plans, Wars, Emergency & Liberalization

Post-independence Indian history is tested heavily in PSC Graduate Level exams — expect 5-8 questions per paper. This note covers the critical period from 1947 to the 2000s with exam-focused facts.

India’s Integration and Early Years (1947-1950)

Event	Detail
Independence	August 15, 1947; Jawaharlal Nehru = first PM
Partition	India and Pakistan created; massive migration and violence
Sardar Patel	”Iron Man of India”; integrated 562 princely states into Indian Union
Key integrations	Hyderabad (Operation Polo, 1948), Junagadh (plebiscite), Kashmir (accession after tribal invasion, 1947)
Mahatma Gandhi	Assassinated January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse
Constitution adopted	November 26, 1949; came into effect January 26, 1950
First President	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
First General Elections	1951-52; Congress won; Nehru continued as PM

Five Year Plans

Plan	Period	Focus/Achievement
First	1951-56	Agriculture, irrigation, dams; modelled on Harrod-Domar model; target: 2.1% growth, achieved: 3.6%
Second	1956-61	Industrialization (Mahalanobis Model); heavy industries — steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela
Third	1961-66	Self-reliance; disrupted by Indo-China War (1962) and Indo-Pak War (1965); food crisis
Plan Holiday	1966-69	Three annual plans; no formal FYP due to wars and drought; Green Revolution began
Fourth	1969-74	”Growth with Stability”; nationalisation of 14 banks (1969); Green Revolution impact
Fifth	1974-79	Poverty eradication (Garibi Hatao); terminated 1 year early by Janata government
Rolling Plan	1978-80	Janata government’s approach; abandoned when Congress returned
Sixth	1980-85	Technology focus; “Increase in national income”
Seventh	1985-90	Most successful plan; focus on productivity and employment; achieved 6% growth
Eighth	1992-97	Post-liberalization; market economy focus; Rao-Manmohan reforms
Ninth	1997-2002	”Growth with Social Justice and Equality”
Tenth	2002-07	Target: 8% GDP growth
Eleventh	2007-12	”Faster and More Inclusive Growth”
Twelfth	2012-17	Last Five Year Plan; “Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth”
NITI Aayog	From 2015	Replaced Planning Commission; no more traditional FYPs

Wars Fought by India

Indo-Pakistani Wars

War	Year	Key Facts
First Kashmir War	1947-48	Pakistan-backed tribal invasion; Maharaja Hari Singh acceded to India; UN ceasefire; LoC established
Indo-Pak War	1965	Operation Grand Slam (Pak); Battle of Asal Uttar (Indian victory); Tashkent Agreement (Jan 1966, mediated by USSR); PM Shastri died in Tashkent
Indo-Pak War / Bangladesh Liberation	1971	East Pakistan crisis; Operation Searchlight (Pak atrocities in East Pak); India intervened; 93,000 Pak soldiers surrendered; Bangladesh created Dec 16, 1971; Shimla Agreement (1972)
Kargil War	1999	Pakistani intrusion in Kargil sector; Operation Vijay; India recaptured all peaks; Kargil Vijay Diwas = July 26

Indo-China War

Fact	Detail
Year	1962
Cause	Border dispute; China invaded NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) and Aksai Chin
Result	India defeated; China withdrew from NEFA but retained Aksai Chin
Impact	Nehru’s “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” policy shattered; major defence build-up began

The Emergency (1975-1977)

Fact	Detail
Period	June 25, 1975 – March 21, 1977
Declared by	President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on advice of PM Indira Gandhi
Under Article	Article 352 (Internal Emergency / National Emergency)
Trigger	Allahabad HC verdict invalidated Indira’s 1971 election; political unrest (JP Movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan)
Key features	Fundamental Rights suspended; press censorship; opposition leaders jailed; forced sterilization; 42nd Amendment (“Mini-Constitution”) passed
42nd Amendment (1976)	Added “Socialist,” “Secular,” and “Integrity” to Preamble; curtailed judicial review; shifted items to Concurrent List
End	Elections held March 1977; Janata Party won; Morarji Desai became PM
44th Amendment (1978)	Janata govt’s response: Right to Property removed from FRs; safeguards against Emergency misuse; Article 352 now requires “armed rebellion” not just “internal disturbance”

Economic Liberalization (1991)

Fact	Detail
Crisis	Balance of Payments crisis; India had forex reserves for only ~2 weeks of imports; pledged gold to IMF
PM	P.V. Narasimha Rao
Finance Minister	Dr. Manmohan Singh
Policy	LPG Reforms — Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization
Industrial Policy 1991	Abolished Licence Raj; reduced public sector monopoly; opened FDI
Key measures	Devaluation of rupee; abolition of industrial licensing (except 6 industries); SEBI given statutory powers; disinvestment of PSUs; trade policy reforms

Post-1991 Key Economic Events

Year	Event
1991	LPG reforms, New Economic Policy
1992	SEBI became statutory body; Harshad Mehta scam
1999	Kargil War; Fiscal Responsibility Act discussions
2003	FRBM Act (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management)
2008	Global Financial Crisis impact on India
2014	Make in India; Jan Dhan Yojana
2016	Demonetization (Nov 8) — ₹500 and ₹1000 notes cancelled
2017	GST (Goods and Services Tax) — July 1; “One Nation, One Tax”

Key Prime Ministers — Timeline

PM	Period	Key Association
Jawaharlal Nehru	1947-64	NAM, Panchsheel, IITs, Planning Commission
Lal Bahadur Shastri	1964-66	”Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”; 1965 war; died at Tashkent
Indira Gandhi	1966-77, 1980-84	Bank nationalisation, Green Revolution, 1971 war, Emergency, Operation Blue Star; assassinated Oct 31, 1984
Morarji Desai	1977-79	First non-Congress PM; Janata Party
Rajiv Gandhi	1984-89	Computer revolution; Panchayati Raj push; Bofors scandal; assassinated May 21, 1991
V.P. Singh	1989-90	Mandal Commission implementation (OBC reservations)
P.V. Narasimha Rao	1991-96	LPG reforms; Babri Masjid demolition (1992)
A.B. Vajpayee	1998-2004	Pokhran-II (1998 nuclear tests); Kargil War; Golden Quadrilateral highway
Manmohan Singh	2004-14	RTI Act (2005); MGNREGA (2006); Nuclear Deal with US (2008); Aadhaar
Narendra Modi	2014-present	Make in India, Swachh Bharat, GST, Demonetization, Digital India, Ayushman Bharat

Important Commissions & Committees

Commission	Year	Purpose
Mandal Commission	1979 (report); implemented 1990	27% OBC reservation in central govt jobs
Shah Commission	1977	Investigated Emergency excesses
Sarkaria Commission	1983	Centre-State relations
Balwant Rai Mehta	1957	Recommended 3-tier Panchayati Raj
Ashok Mehta	1977	Recommended 2-tier Panchayati Raj
Rajmannar Committee	1969	Centre-State financial relations (Tamil Nadu)

Nuclear India

Event	Detail
Smiling Buddha	May 18, 1974; India’s first nuclear test; Pokhran, Rajasthan; under Indira Gandhi
Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti)	May 11 & 13, 1998; 5 tests; under Vajpayee; India declared nuclear weapon state

Quick Recall

1. First Five Year Plan model? → Harrod-Domar
2. Mahalanobis Model was used in which plan? → Second (1956-61)
3. Emergency declared under which Article? → 352
4. “Mini Constitution” Amendment? → 42nd (1976)
5. Bangladesh created in which year? → 1971
6. LPG reforms — Finance Minister? → Dr. Manmohan Singh
7. Kargil Vijay Diwas? → July 26
8. First non-Congress PM? → Morarji Desai
9. Mandal Commission — reservation for? → OBCs (27%)
10. GST launched on? → July 1, 2017