Ten important events in Desi history

Brothers AAA engaged in much nostalgia the other day. We were thinking of the late 1990s, when top 10 lists covering the best (or worst) of the century was all the rage. One thing led to another, and we ended up compiling a list of 10 significant events in the 20th century Desi history. We easily agreed on the following six (in chronological order): Jallianwalabagh massacre, Lahore resolution, partition, Bangladesh war, Ayodhya crisis and nuclear tests. We needed four more.

Many would have suggested the Quit India movement. But what did the movement achieve? What did the movement aim to achieve? Despite Churchill’s ramblings, British seemed to have agreed to quit India as soon as possible after the war was over. On the other hand, short of a general mutiny by the rank and file of the Indian army, as Subhas Bose urged (more on him some other time), they wouldn’t have quit while the war was still raging. One has to wonder why this wasn’t clear to Congress? Why did they launch the movement? Nehru agonised over it, eventually supporting it because he wanted a Free India fighting tyranny and building a peaceful world after the war. In reality, the movement failed to end British rule. It did, however, strengthen the communists and Muslim League in Bengal. Elsewhere it achieved little. The salt march on the other hand made much more of a difference. It forced the British to acknowledge Congress as the nationalist force, and led to negotiations which ultimately led to independence. So we chose the salt march.

We agreed, well 2/3rd of us agreed, that the success of representative democracy in India must be one of the most important events of the 20th century, not only in Desh but anywhere in the world. But which single event would best mark Indian democracy? General election of 1952, the first one held on universal adult suffrage, must be considered a revolutionary achievement. On the other hand, democracy was temporarily derailed during the Emergency, and perhaps revocation of that order should be considered? Or, to the extent that sustained Indian democracy was a result of Pundit Nehru’s commitment, perhaps this should be celebrated. We even thought of Jinnah’s assumption of the office of Governor General as a way of illustrating what might have happened to India had Nehru not committed to democracy. Nehru’s commitment notwithstanding, we decided to honour the constitution that made the democracy possible. After all, it would not be in the spirit of democracy to heap all the credit on an individual, would it? Besides, the Indian Republic was the first time in Desh’s history that people’s sovereignty was proclaimed. Thus, we chose the adoption of the Indian constitution.

If Indian democracy is an achievement, then Kashmir must be its biggest blemish. But what single event in Kashmir’s tortured history to choose? Much debated signing of the Instrument of Accession? Imprisonment of Sheikh Abdullah? Rigged elections of the 1980s? The uprising of the 1990s? But would any of these have happened had there been no tribal invasion in 1947? So we chose the invasion of Kashmir.

Desh was of course affected by events around the world. Thousands of Desi soldiers perished defending Angrez interests in the first half of the century, while the countries ended up taking sides in the cold war. But these were global developments, and we are interested in events particularly affecting Desh. Two events with clear external origins had to be considered: China's annexation of Tibet, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

We discarded the first. We asked what impacts did the Sino-Indian war have on the subsequent history of Desh? It weakened the Nehru government, but Congress survived as the dominant political force for two more generations. It led to India rearming, but that probably would have happened anyway given Pakistan's actions. And Indian embrace of Soviet friendship was caused by the war in Bangladesh, not by the war with China.

It was on the other hand a day of tremendous consequences when the Soviets marched into Kabul. When it comes to Jihadi violence, fighting infidels in Iraq is for neophytes, the real mujahedin tested their mettle against the godless Red Army in Afghanistan. Successive Afghan wars provided the Fauji Republic of Pakistan with resources to fight proxy wars in Punjab and Kashmir. Imagine recent history of Desh without the destructive conflict in Khalistan or Jihadi violence in Kashmir. So we chose the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the 10th event.

In summary then:
- Jallianwallabagh massacre (1919),
- salt march (1930),
- Lahore resolution (1940)
- partition (1947),
- tribal invasion of Kashmir (1947),
- adoption of India’s constitution (1949),
- Bangladesh war (1971),
- Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979),
- Ayodhya crisis (1992), and
- nuclear tests (1998).