Important Events of Independent India in last 70 Years | Part 1

Important Events of Independent India in last 70 Years – 1

The journey of independent India started with a historic speech given by India’s 1st Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. That speech is famously known as Tryst with Destiny. It was delivered on 14-08-1947 at midnight. That speech aimed at inspiring the Indians to rebuild the torn nation by putting aside mutual differences and join hands together.

In 1948, January 31st was marked with blood as the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. Though even now it remains controversial whether Nathuram Godse should be hailed or banished for this killing.

The preamble of the Indian Constitution was introduced in 1949, Nov’26th. A popular initial of the preamble was – We, the People of India. The constitution laid emphasis on several key issues deemed necessary for Country’s progress namely Justice, Fraternity, Equality & Liberty. It is believed that our constitution was inspired from American constitution and also took cue from French revolution.

In 1950, copying the Russian model of governance, a lot of initiatives were introduced by the Indian Government. Planning commission was set up to design and implement 5-year plans with major thrust on centralized planning. The first 5-year plan was launched in 1951.

In March-April 1952 the 1^st general elections took place in the largest democracy of the world much to the astonishment of the developed nations who were of the view that it was nearly impossible to implement the people’s rule in a poor country like India. Around 50 political parties contested the elections but Congress emerged the clear winner.

India-China agreed upon the Panchsheel treaty in 1954 which made a slogan very popular in India – Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai !! It was an important deal because USA considered both India and China as useless countries with no future or growth prospects. This friendship was to counter USA’s efforts to befriend Pakistan and other small countries for its own benefit.

India was facing a stiff situation due to the need of redrawing the borders of states and making some manageable arrangement. During this, one Social worker Potti Sriramulu sat for Fast-unto-death with his demand to create a state for Telgu people. Soon demand started pouring in from other states as well. In 1956, The states reorganization act was introduced and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel initiated the process of finalizing the boundaries of states on the basis of language.

In order to remove the stigma of untouchability which haunted the Indian society over many centuries, The Untouchability Offences Act 1955 was introduced. It drastically changed the Indian social landscape though even now also we hear cases of caste abuse.