History of the Present

Key ideas that have shaped Independent India. 

In this course, we cover key events that have shaped India since Independence in 1947. Based loosely upon Ramchandra Guha’s India After Gandhi, this course is a survey of the people’s history” of the present. We hope you understand key concepts that impact our everyday lives, like democracy, populism, majoritarianism, federalism, communalism, authoritarianism, and social inequality. 

We will look at key events and movements in the history of India after 1947. Some examples of what we study includes the linguistic reorganisation of states, the Emergency, the Khalistan movement, Mandal Commission, the controversy around Babri Masjid, economic reforms and the rise of the middle class. We will also look at social movements around the environment, gender and caste to see how they have transformed the nature of the Republic in the past 70 years.