India and South Asia after 1947 [Lec 04 of 11 April 2019]

India and South Asia after 194 (Spring 2019) [Lec 04, Lecture of 11 April 2019] at UCLA. The Indian-state today, I suggest, embodies the world-view of of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Gandhi. Masculinity is inherent to the idea of the nation-state, I would argue, and India is not singular in this respect. Gandhi was nevertheless anointed the 'Father of the Nation'. The narrative of secularism in India begins at this juncture. India derived its own version of secularism; I take a brief look at holidays, including religious holidays, in India and contrast it with the US/Los Angeles. (Jewish holidays in LA schools are not designated as such; they are called unassigned holidays. )The Constituent Assembly was formed to frame the Constitution; one of the other major tasks was the 'integration of India'. Constituent Assembly was chaired by Ambedkar. We look briefly at its work and the drafting of the Constitution of India, and then at the first General Elections of 1951 and the diversity of political parties even at that time. We make some comparisons with the 2019 General Elections. There was much deliberation about how to ameliorate the grievances of the scheduled tribes and castes. I end this lecture with a simple illustration of the practice of 'untouchability' outlawed in principle by the Constitution of India.

See the full playlist for India and South Asia after 1947:    • India and South Asia, 1947-present  

Subscribe for more lectures on Indian Civilization, World History, Bollywood, Gandhi, and much else...

Blog: https://vinaylal.wordpress.com/
MANAS (a pedagogical website on Indian history, culture, religions, politics, and so on): http://southasia.ucla.edu/
UCLA Faculty Page: https://history.ucla.edu/faculty/vina...
Books: https://vinaylal.wordpress.com/books-...