Nation-Building and its Problems

About this unit

Independence in August 1947 came with Partition and with the challenge of building a new nation. This unit covers the three main challenges the new state faced: shaping a nation united in its diversity, establishing democracy, and ensuring development for all. It discusses the violence and displacement of Partition, the integration of the princely states, the special case of Jammu and Kashmir, and the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.

Key ideas

• Partition led to large-scale migration, communal violence and the problem of resettling refugees.
• Over 500 princely states had to be brought into the Indian Union; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V.P. Menon led this effort.
• The Instrument of Accession was the legal document through which rulers joined India.
• Hyderabad, Junagadh, Manipur and Kashmir were difficult cases.
• Andhra Pradesh (1953) was the first state formed on a linguistic basis, after a popular movement.
• The States Reorganisation Commission led to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.

How to prepare

Memorise key dates: Andhra state (1953), the States Reorganisation Act (1956), the creation of Maharashtra and Gujarat (1960), and Punjab and Haryana (1966). Be ready to explain Nehru's views on unity, the methods used to integrate princely states, and the arguments for and against linguistic states.