Republic of India

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Republic of India
भारत गणराज्य
Flag of Republic of India
Flag
Coat of arms of Republic of India
Coat of arms
CapitalNew Delhi
Largest cityMumbai
Official languagesHindi
English
Dominant mode of productionCapitalism
GovernmentFederal parliamentary bourgeois republic
• President
Ram Nath Kovind
• Vice President
Venkaiah Naidu
• Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Area
• Total
3,287,263 km²
Population
• 2018 estimate
1,352,642,280


India, officially the Republic of India, is a bourgeois country in South Asia and the second most-populated country in the world behind the People's Republic of China.[1] Dozens of languages are spoken in India, and the country has a large Muslim minority that makes up 10% of the world's Muslim population.[2]

History

Bronze Age

An urban civilization developed in the Indus Valley around 2600 BCE. Its major cities included Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. The Indus civilization collapsed around 1900 BCE, and archaeologists found many unburied remains showing signs of violent death.[3]

Iron Age

See main article: Maurya Empire

16 states dominated northern India by 500 BCE, and the Kingdom of Magadha conquered the others by 321 BCE to form the Maurya Empire.[4]

Classical period

See main article: Gupta Empire

Early modern period

See main article: Mughal Empire

Colonization

See main article: British Raj

The British East India Company took control of India in 1765 and established a trade monopoly. The British Raj took control of India in 1847 and suppressed a rebellion in 1857. The British stole at least $44.6 trillion from India, while the population of India dropped by 20% between 1870 and 1920 and tens of millions died from famine under British rule.[5]

Independence movement

In the early 1900s, following the defeat of the Swadeshi movement, Indians began boycotting British goods and picketing their shops. In 1908, the workers of Mumbai went on strike.[6]:34 Following the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, the Indian National Congress met in 1919 at Amritsar. Nehru wanted to redistribute land to the peasants, but Gandhi prevented the Congress from following that path.[6]:40

Independence

Nehru's first two five-year plans, which ended in 1961, failed to lessen inequality.[7] He ousted a Communist government from power in Kerala.[8] India fought against China in 1962 and against Pakistan in 1965.[9]:215

Nehru died in 1964, and Indira Gandhi became prime minister in 1966. She ruled under martial law from 1975 to 1977, when she left office. She returned to power in 1980. The INC lost the 1983 elections in several southern states, with N. T. Rama Rao taking power in Andhra Pradesh and the Janata Party taking power in Karnataka. It won in Assam, where only 2% of the population voted among widespread ethnic violence.[9]:208

In 1989, India introduced economic changes that allowed capitalists to take control of scarce natural resources.[10]

References

  1. Philip B. Calkins (2022). India. Encyclopedia Britannica.
  2. Mike Wang (2014-05-22). "The election of Narendra Modi and the dangerous rise of India’s far-right" Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  3. Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'The First Class Societies' (pp. 19–21). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]
  4. Chris Harman (1999). A People's History of the World: 'Iron and empires' (p. 49). [PDF] London: Bookmarks Publications Ltd. ISBN 9781898876557 [LG]
  5. Jason Hickelby (2019-01-09). "How Britain Stole $45 Trillion From India And Lied About It" Black Agenda Report. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Vijay Prashad (2017). Red Star over the Third World: 'Follow the Path of the Russians!'. [PDF] New Delhi: LeftWord Books.
  7. Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'Arusha' (p. 199). [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]
  8. Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'Bali' (p. 162). [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]
  9. 9.0 9.1 Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'New Delhi'. [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]
  10. "‘India after Naxalbari: Unfinished History’" (2022-07-14). Monthly Review. Retrieved 2022-07-14.