POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

 

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. PROFILE OF UTTRAKHAND

 

Uttarakhand, formerly Uttaranchal, state of India, located in the northwestern part of the country. It is bordered to the northwest by the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, to the northeast by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, to the southeast by Nepal, and to the south and southwest by the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Its capital is the northwestern city of Dehra Dun. On November 9, 2000, the state of Uttaranchal—the 27th state of India—was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, and in January 2007 the new state changed its name to Uttarakhand, meaning “northern region,” which was the traditional name for the area. Area 19,739 square miles (51,125 square km). Pop. (2011) 10,116,752. Uttarakhand has a multiethnic population spread across two recognized Geocultural regions: the Garhwal, which corresponds roughly to the northwestern half of the state, and the Kumaon, which spans the southeast. Rajput’s (various clans of landowning rulers and their descendants)—including members of the indigenous Garhwali, Gujjar, and Kumauni communities, as well as a number of immigrant peoples—constitute a large portion of the population. Of the total population, nearly one-fifth belongs to the Scheduled Castes (an official designation for those groups that traditionally have occupied a low position within the Indian caste system); these people are collectively called Kols or Dom’s. Scheduled Tribes (an official category embracing indigenous peoples who fall outside the Indian social system), such as the Raji, who live near the border with Nepal, account for less than 5 percent of the population. Most of the people of Uttarakhand speak Indo-Aryan languages. Hindi is the official language of the state. Hindustani, which contains words from both Hindi and Urdu, is the principal spoken language. Other languages used in Uttarakhand include Garhwali and Kumauni (both Pahari languages), Punjabi, and Nepali. More than four-fifths of Uttarakhand’s residents are Hindu. Muslims constitute the largest religious minority, accounting for about one-tenth of the population. Smaller communities of Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains make up most of the remainder of Uttarakhand’s people.

Although roughly three-fifths of the working population of Uttarakhand is engaged in agriculture, less than one-fifth of the total area of Uttarakhand is cultivable. Steep slopes require careful terracing and irrigation, with water drained from the upper levels used to irrigate the lower ones. This method of terrace cultivation allows fields to be sown more than once per year. Wheat is the most widely cultivated crop, followed by rice and various types of millets, which are planted on the drier leeward slopes. Sugarcane is grown extensively in the gently rolling foothills of the southern region. Other important crops include pulses (legumes) such as peas and chickpeas, oilseeds such as soybeans, peanuts, and mustard seeds, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Many farmers of Uttarakhand practice animal husbandry. The largest concentration of cattle to support dairy farming is found in the southern foothills. Goats and sheep are more common in the mountainous areas, although some cattle are kept in every village. The search for flourishing grassland has resulted in a tradition of transhumance, whereby livestock are led to graze in the mountain pastures during the warmer months but are transferred to the lower elevations for the winter. Some communities in the Siwalik Range historically have specialized in such seasonal herding. Forests in Uttarakhand provide timber for construction, fuel wood, and various manufacturing activities, including handicrafts. Reforestation programs sponsored by the state government have moderately increased production, which, in turn, has facilitated development of additional forest-based industries.

 

 

 

2.MAKERS OF MODERN INDIA: JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

The story of Jawaharlal Nehru is the story of contemporary India, which he in large part has shaped. Mr. Nehru will be remembered also as the foremost exponent of the political doctrine of “nonalignment,” which influenced the foreign policy of India and many other nations emerging from colonialism. Mr. Nehru was an accomplished politician, orator and author whose contemplative books on Indian affairs are widely read. He was best known outside his own country as a statesman with far‐reaching influence in international councils. His principal role on the world scene was that of peacemaker, although he did not shrink from use of arms when he considered the integrity of India threatened.

                        On Aug. 15, 1947, when India became independent of Britain, Mr. Nehru began exercising firm personal control over every aspect of the nation's government. He made every major decision and many minor ones. He was simultaneously Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, sometimes Defense Minister, and chairman of the top‐level committees on economic planning and scientific development. He was also the chief architect of movements for far‐ranging social reforms, such as the removal of Untouchability and liberalization of laws concerning family relationships.

                         Untouchability is a form of social segregation applying to those born into the lowest rung of the Hindu caste structure, who traditionally have been condemned to work in demeaning occupations such as collecting refuse. The English term came into use from the ancient belief that physical contact with these unfortunates was defiling to a Hindu of higher caste. A man with the homely characteristics of a great natural leader as well as a great politician and far‐seeing statesman, Mr. Nehru, perhaps unconsciously, built a sharply defined public personality that was quite different from that of Gandhi.

Some years ago a village women began standing at the gate of his house in New Delhi and handing him a rose. She continued to do so until she disappeared, whereupon his gardeners kept up what had become a tradition. He always wore the flower in the button hole of his achkan, or high‐collared coat. Under the pressure, of his work, Mr. Nehru had little time for relaxation in his later years. Occasionally, perhaps once a year, he would spend a few days in Kashmir, where he would explore the countryside on horseback and play badminton. At his official residence in New Delhi, he reserved a few minutes each morning to visit the small menagerie of animals that had been presented to him. His favorites were a pair of Himalayan pandas. At official parties, Mr. Nehru would sometimes be seen standing alone and frowning, apparently so engrossed in his own thoughts that no one cared to interrupt him. At such gatherings he was always, most animated in the company of women, with whom he liked to make casual conversation, although he was impatient with small talk in contacts with men. Throughout his active life Mr. Nehru had known little of serious illness until he suffered a mild paralytic stroke in January, 1964, while attending a meeting of the Congress party in Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa state. For the first time since taking office he appointed deputies to handle some of the duties he had insisted upon carrying himself. Even then he returned to New Delhi against the advice of his physicians. Under the pressure, of his work, Mr. Nehru had little time for relaxation in his later years. Occasionally, perhaps once a year, he would spend a few days in Kashmir, where he would explore the countryside on horseback and play badminton. At his official residence in New Delhi, he reserved a few minutes each morning to visit the small menagerie of animals that had been presented to him. His favorites were a pair of Himalayan pandas. At official parties, Mr. Nehru would sometimes be seen standing alone and frowning, apparently so engrossed in his own thoughts that no one cared to interrupt him. At such gatherings he was always, most animated in the company of women, with whom he liked to make casual conversation, although he was impatient with small talk in contacts with men.

                              Throughout his active life Mr. Nehru had known little of serious illness until he suffered a mild paralytic stroke in January, 1964, while attending a meeting of the Congress party in Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa state. For the first time since taking office he appointed deputies to handle some of the duties he had insisted upon carrying himself. Even then he returned to New Delhi against the advice of his physicians.