Power and Contestation: India
since 1989
Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam
Fernwood Publishing
halifax | winnipeg
Zed Books
london | new york
Power and Contestation: India since 1989 was first published in 2007
Published in Canada by Fernwood Publishing Ltd, 32 Oceanvista Lane,
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Copyright © Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam, 2007
The rights of Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam to be identified as the
authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Cover designed by Andrew Corbett
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
us cip data are available from the Library of Congress.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Menon, Nivedita
Power and contestation : India since 1989 / Nivedita Menon and Aditya
Nigam.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-55266-239-7
1. India--Politics and government--1977-. 2. India--Foreign relations--1984-.
3. India--History--1947-. I. Nigam, Aditya II. Title.
ds480.853.m45 2007 954.05’2 c2007-903403-9
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the publisher.
isbn 978-1-84277-814-2 hb (Zed Books)
isbn 978-1-84277-815-9 pb (Zed Books)
isbn 978-1-55266-239-7 pb (Fernwood Publishing)
Timeline
Major country-level landmarks in India since Independence
This timeline is meant only as an aid for those with little familiarity with Indian history and politics. It is necessarily limited and
schematic, focusing only on some formal political events at the
national level.
1947–89
August 15, 1947 India attains Independence from British rule.
January 26, 1950 The new Constitution of the Indian Republic
comes into force.
1967
Defeat of the Congress in nine states (including two Leftled governments).
The Maoist revolt (Naxalbari – the rebellion of idealist
elite youth).
1969
Split in ruling Congress (1969) and the “radical” turn in
Congress – bank nationalization, garibi hatao (End Poverty) policy.
1971
Bangladesh attains Independence from Pakistan, in
which India sends troops to aid Bangladesh.
1973–74 Gujarat student agitation known as the Nav Nirman
movement.
Bihar movement led by Gandhian leader Jaya Prakash
Narayan, which eventually spreads all over northern
India.
Railway strike.
Allahabad High Court judgment on corruption in electoral practices against PM Indira Gandhi – leading to the
declaration of Emergency.
1975–77 The government declares a state of Emergency, which
lasts till March 1977. In this the government receives full
backing of the Soviet bloc.
1977–79 Defeat of Congress. Janata Party government comes to
power, and restoration of democracy.
Timeline | xi
July 1979 Collapse of Janata government.
1980–90 The return of Indira Gandhi (1980) inaugurates another
decade of Congress rule. A decade full of turbulence
marked by terrorism in Punjab and the rise of “separatist” movements.
June 1984 “Operation Bluestar” – the Indian Army moves into the
Amritsar Golden Temple to “flush out” terrorists, involving a major gun battle and large-scale destruction of the
Sikh place of worship.
31 October 1984 Indira Gandhi assassinated by Sikh bodyguards,
Rajiv Gandhi becomes caretaker prime minister. Largescale Congress-sponsored massacre of Sikhs.
December 1984 The Congress Party under Rajiv Gandhi sweeps
the general elections under the impact of a sympathy
wave combined with a Hindu backlash against Sikh “terrorism.”
1986
Government passes Muslim Women (Protection of Rights
on Divorce) Act 1986, overturning the Supreme Court
judgment on Shah Bano.
1987
India deploys the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in
Sri Lanka, which turns out to be another misadventure.
1989 onwards
1989
1990
1991
1992
1996
Defeat of the Congress following widespread allegations
of corruption. National Front government under V. P.
Singh, supported by the Left and the Right, takes power.
Mandal Commission report implemented. Indian troops
withdrawn from Sri Lanka.
National Front government falls as BJP withdraws support over the first major attempt at demolition of the
Babri Masjid. Congress returns to power.
Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by a Sri Lankan Tamil suicide
bomber.
Structural adjustment program initiated.
Babri Masjid demolished through Hindu right-wing mass
mobilization.
Congress defeated once again in general elections. BJP
emerges as single largest party in parliament but unable
to garner support. The United Front government supported by the Left takes power.
xii | Timeline
1998
Right-wing BJP-led National Democratic Alliance takes
power at Center.
India explodes nuclear device.
February 2002 Gujarat carnage.
April 2004 Defeat of NDA. United Progressive Alliance government
supported by Left and social movements comes to power.
India at a glance
Area (sq. km)
3,166,000
Population (million)
1,027
Population living in rural areas, as per the 2001 Census (%)
72.2
Number of States and Union Territories
35
Biggest cities: Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly
Calcutta), Chennai (formerly Madras), Bangalore, Hyderabad
Literacy rate: 2001:
Total
Male
Female
Male–female gap
Note: Literacy rate represents the number of literate persons as a
percentage of the total population.
Source: Census of India, 2001
Number of official languages
Government of India uses both Hindi and English for official
purposes.
65.38
75.85
54.16
21.7
23
Human Development Indicators:
1 Human Development Index Rank
2 Human Poverty Index (Rank)
3 Population living below $1 a day, 1990–2001 (%)
4 Population living below $2 a day, 1990–2001 (%)
5 Population living below the national poverty line, 1987–2000 (%)
Source: Human Development Indicators, 2003, UNDP
127
53
34.7
79.9
28.6
Sex ratio (women per 1,000 men)
933
Religious community-wise break-up (%):
Hindu
Muslim (world’s second largest population after Indonesia)
Christian
Sikh
Buddhist
Population classified as Scheduled Tribes
Population classified as Scheduled Castes (Dalit)
85
13.4
2.3
1.9
0.8
8.2
16.2