Government and Politics in South Asia

Robert C Oberst

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780429974847
• Edition: 7
• Topic: Politica e relazioni internazionali
• Subtopic: Politica asiatica

This comprehensive but accessible text provides students with a systematic introduction to the comparative political study of the leading nations of South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The seventh edition is extensively revised and updated, benefiting from the fresh perspective brought on by adding a new author to the team. New material includes discussions of political parties and leaders in India, the Zardari regime and changes to the Pakistani constitution, the rocky relationship between Pakistan and the Obama administration, new prospects and dangers facing Bangladesh, continuing political violence in Sri Lanka, and the troubles facing Nepal as it attempts to draft a new constitution.

Organized in parallel fashion to facilitate cross-national comparison, the sections on each nation address several topical areas of inquiry: political culture and heritage, government structure and institutions, political parties and leaders, conflict and resolution, and modernization and development. A statistical appendix provides a concise overview of leading demographic and economic indicators for each country, making Government and Politics in South Asia an invaluable addition to courses on the politics of South Asia

1

Introduction

To most people in North America, the Indian subcontinent is an exotic land of maharajas and sadhus. It holds a special place as part of the distant Orient. However, while our stereotypes continue to dominate the way we view the subcontinent, India and its neighbors have increasingly begun to play a major role in international affairs and the international economy and are thus an important subject for study and better understanding.

The subcontinent’s population makes it significant. First, with a population of over 1.6 billion, or nearly one-quarter of the people on earth, the Indian subcontinent cannot be ignored.¹ Second, its role in the world economy is of increasing consequence, particularly as regards the growth of the information technology industry and the subcontinent’s role in manufacturing and exports. Culturally, Bollywood movies have an international audience, and the South Asian diaspora has developed a footprint in North America’s economic, political, and social life. Finally, the region has become important to North American strategic interests. The events of 9/11 thrust the region into the awareness of every citizen of North America and Europe. Pakistan’s remote hill territories are hiding places for US enemies; for the people of South Asia, they are a breeding ground for terrorism.

The following chapters describe the countries of South Asia and examine the reason for their successes and failures. Each of these nations is struggling to create a stable political environment that will allow for rapid economic growth and the resolution of its most serious problems.

South Asia is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The Harappan (or Indus Valley) civilization was one of the world’s earliest cultures. Existing more than 3,500 years ago, it was a marvel among the societies of that era and laid the groundwork for the civilization that would become India. The region’s geography would protect the subcontinent for nearly 2,000 years. The land routes to the west required travel across the Hindu Kush range of mountains or across the great desert of Balochistan. To the north lay the natural wall of the Himalayas, and to the east, the narrow ranges and jungles of Burma. The seas to the south provided the easiest access and would become the preferred route of invasion for waves of Europeans.

Although Alexander the Great came to Pakistan in the fourth century BC, the first permanent colonies were created by the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, French, and British. Among them, the British would prevail and rule India for over two hundred years.

Before the Europeans, sporadic streams of invaders had come and conquered for a brief time. The residents of the subcontinent would absorb some elements of their cultures with each wave. The first Muslim invaders came in the eighth century; the Mughal Empire, established in 1504, created some of the world’s most important architectural treasures, including the Taj Mahal. The Mughals would also leave a remarkable administrative legacy, which the British eventually would adopt.

When compared with other former European colonies, the subcontinent stands out as a refuge for democratic and stable political development. Although some of the countries of the region are struggling with democracy, democratic values have taken hold in most of them. Each of these countries is also evolving as a major source of scientific research and development. India and Pakistan have both exploded nuclear bombs, while their scientists have flocked to richer Western nations. The rise of information technology has opened up South Asia as no other event could have. Today, it is a center of software development and a manufacturing hub for Western companies in India.

The 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon forced the Western nations to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The spread of a more militant version of Islam than that known in South Asia for nearly a millennium has begun to split and transform the region’s 400 million Muslims. It has also generated increased concern and scrutiny among military planners in the United States and Western Europe.

Each of the South Asian states faces five critical areas of political development: nation building, state building, participation, economy building, and distribution of wealth and social benefits. Although India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka inherited fairly effective state apparatuses, they are facing different challenges.

Following this chapter’s introductory discussion of the political heritage of the British era, Parts I through V examine the five largest countries of the region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Part VI addresses the interrelationships among the states in the region and their roles in the international system and ties the themes of the book to a discussion of the political development of the region as a whole.

European and British Expansion

The South Asian political systems and societies of the twenty-first century owe much to the influence of British colonial rule. While colonialism destroyed the right of the people to govern themselves and placed an alien ruler, located 5,000 miles away, in charge of their destinies, it did leave some positive and lasting effects.

While other former colonies in Asia and Africa have struggled in their efforts to create democratic governments, the South Asian nation-states have been much more successful. Although we discuss the countries of the subcontinent separately, it is important to understand their common historical experience and the influence of British colonialism. The British did not rule the region as a single colony. The countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were part of the British colony of India, while Sri Lanka was a separate Crown colony, and Nepal was never a formal colony but rather a protectorate under British control. While we discuss them individually, their common British experience has helped to shape the success these nations have experienced in nation building. Although the British influence has been important in shaping the independent nations of the region, however, the experience was not all positive. The success of the people of the subcontinent in taking advantage of the positive contributions of the British and overcoming the negative influences is a testament to the resiliency of South Asian culture and its people.²

It is easy to forget that the British were not the first Europeans to arrive on the subcontinent. Vasco da Gama visited on his voyage of discovery around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in 1498. He left a few Portuguese representatives behind to set up a trading post. In 1503, the Portuguese would set up the first European outpost in South Asia at Cochin, in what is now the South Indian state of Kerala. The Portuguese would spend the next century expanding their control of South Asia along India’s western coast and in Sri Lanka. For the next 150 years the trading language of the region would be Portuguese. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I presented a charter forming the British East India Company, with the British arriving at Surat (in present-day Gujarat) in 1612. The British would slowly establish their control of India in the face of the Portuguese who were already there and the Mughal Empire, ruled from Delhi, which challenged their ability to control the region. The Dutch East India Company, formed in 1602, also coveted the riches of South Asia and began to establish trading outposts along the coast of India and in Sri Lanka. In 1608, it would establish its headquarters on the Coromondal coast near Madras. After a series of failed attempts, the French established their first factory in India in 1668 at Surat.³

The British East India Company would be given a monopoly over all British trade with India. As the company expanded, it was forced to undertake more administrative and government functions, including maintaining an army for protection. The company would create the city of Calcutta in East India and establish its headquarters there until the British government dissolved the company and took over direct rule of India in 1862.

The first European efforts to establish economic and political control over South Asia encountered one major obstacle: the Mughal Empire. The Mughals were western and central Asians who had conquered India in 1526 and established a remarkable record of architectural, artistic, educational, and political accomplishments during their rule. The Mughals did not rule all of India, since several southern Hindu kingdoms resisted conquest. They did, however, rule from the Khyber Pass to Bengal across the north and as far south as the Deccan Plateau. The Mughals were the last of a series of Muslim dynasties that ruled India from the eleventh century onward.

Mughal rule was marked by great decentralization. The Mughals allowed a number of Hindu kingdoms to exist autonomously as long as they pledged to support the Mughal leadership. The first Europeans arrived as the Mughal Empire was founded (1526) and began establishing outposts as the empire peaked in its power and influence in the seventeenth century under the leadership of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The overthrow of Shah Jahan by his son in 1657 marked the beginning of the decline of the empire. The decline would be hastened by the Europeans, especially the British, who would make alliances with Hindu kings seeking more autonomy from the Mughal leadership. The Mughal Empire would decline in power after 1750. The last emperor was exiled to Burma in 1858 after participating in the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny against the British.

In the last years of the empire, the British and the Europeans controlled the coastal areas of the country, gradually leaving the Mughals with control of only the Gangetic Plain (modern-day Uttar Pradesh) and finally the city of Delhi. After the collapse of the Mughals, the British maintained most of the Mughal administration and gradually imposed their rule. Their piecemeal approach resulted in two forms of control over the subcontinent. Some of the territory acquired by the British East India Company was ruled directly by the British governor-general and described as British India. It comprised 60 percent of the territory of India and two-thirds of the population.

The other territories were obtained through agreements with local rulers. These areas are usually called princely states. At the time of independence in 1947, there were more than five hundred of them. The British negotiated a separate agreement with each princely state, although they usually granted them autonomy while maintaining control over their foreign affairs, defense, and other matters.

The Mutiny and Its Aftermath

A defining moment of British rule was the 1857 Indian or Sepoy Mutiny (which many Indian nationalists refer to as the first war of independence). The causes of the uprising are too complex to discuss in detail here; broadly speaking, it resulted from the British East India Company’s arrogance in its dealings with the princely states and the Indian people. The revolt was a carefully coordinated uprising led by the sepoys, who were the foot soldiers of the British East India Company’s army in India. Initially the Indians captured many important urban centers of British rule and killed many British people living in the country. Ultimately the British forces would regain control of the country, and British rule would continue.

In the end, the British East India Company was dissolved on September 1, 1858, and the British Crown assumed control of India. The British government recognized the need to be more responsive to the Indian population and began a series of reforms to avoid future rebellions.

The Indian Councils Act of 1861, passed by the British Parliament, created the Legislative Council, which would advise the Executive Council (cabinet of the viceroy). It included a number of appointed, nonofficial members, who could be Indians. While the Legislative Council did not provide effective representation to the Indian people, it was a beginning that would lead to greater demands for more representation.

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 and became an outspoken representative of the Indian people and an important force for greater Indian representation in the colonial government. Later, in 1906, the Muslim League was founded, and the two organizations worked to pressure the British to provide more representation.

In 1906, Viceroy Lord Minto endorsed a plan that would become the Government of India Act of 1909. The act, more commonly called the Morley-Minto reforms, allowed for elected representatives to the Legislative Council. It also allowed one Indian to be named to the Executive Council. However, its significance was the provision for twenty-seven elected Indian members and five appointed Indian members of the Legislative Council, in addition to the thirty-six appointed members who were almost all British. This provision provided for nearly equal representation for Indian and British members on the legislative body.

The other unique feature of the Morley-Minto reforms was the creation of separate representation for religious groups. Each seat on the council was assigned to one of the major religious groups in India (Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims), and only the members of that group could vote for the seat. The seats were apportioned roughly on the basis of the population; thus, most went to Hindus.

The Indian National Congress opposed separate electorates for religious groups when they were first demanded in 1906. However, in 1916 both the Congress and the Muslim League held their annual meetings in Lucknow, India, at the same time. During the meetings the two groups signed an agreement (the Lucknow Agreement) in which the Congress accepted the demand for separate Muslim and Sikh representation on the Legislative Council. The agreement was negotiated by two of the most important figures during the colonial era and the march to Indian independence. The Muslim League was represented by Muhammed Ali Jinnah (1876–1948), the primary architect of the pact; among the Indian National Congress negotiators was Motilal Nehru (1861–1931), who would become president of the Congress in 1919. His son, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), granddaughter, Indira Gandhi (1917–1984), and great-grandson, Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991), would all serve as prime ministers of independent India. Both the League and the Congress believed the British were about to grant further reforms.

While Lord Morley stated that the British had no intention of granting self-government to India, the British secretary of state for India, Edwin Montagu, told the British Parliament in 1917 that the policy of the British government was to gradually develop self-government. In consultation Viceroy Lord Chelmsford and Montagu would present what would become the Government of India Act of 1919. More commonly called the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, the act would increase Indian representation on the Legislative Council to a majority. It would also create a bicameral system, with a Council of State with 60 members and a Central Legislative Assembly with 145 members; 32 of the 60 Council of State members would be elected Indians, and 97 of the 145 Central Legislative Assembly members would be elected Indians. The Executive Council of the viceroy would now have four British and three Indian members. While the act expanded the powers of the Executive and Legislative Councils, ultimate power rested in the hands of the British viceroy, who could declare any act to be of paramount importance and override their decisions.

Administratively, the British had divided India into provinces and princely states.⁴ The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms created councils at the provincial level. Control over nation-building departments, including agriculture, public works, health, and education, was left with the provincial legislatures. Finance, revenue, and security remained directly under the control of the British governor. This system, called dyarchy, or dual rule, would allow a substantial amount of self-rule for the Indians—much more than the British had granted to any of its other colonies.

The Indian National Congress rejected the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms because they did not go far enough in moving India toward self-government. This rejection led to a split within the Congress movement. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948), who had begun a mass movement of nonviolent resistance against the British, wanted more power granted to the Indians. His movement had broadened the Congress from its original roots of elitist British-educated intellectuals. The early leaders of the movement came from the country’s British-speaking elite, who, for the most part, supported cooperation with the British. Led by Motilal Nehru, this wing of the Congress would contest the Legislative Council elections and become the largest bloc in the council. Both groups were severely affec...