1984-1991 History of India Since 2004






India 1991-2004


Foreign Policy : India's military partnership with the USSR ended because of the latter's dissolution; however in 1998 India's President Vajpayee announced that India possessed the Nuclear Bomb (nemesis Pakistan successfully tested their bomb only weeks later). In 1999 Muslim Kashmiri insurgents, with the support of Pakistan invaded the part of Kashmir held by India; a two month border war followed, in which the Indian forces played out their logistical and technical superiority. The war, much displayed on Indian TV, also helped the BJP win the national elections.
Relations with neighbour Pakistan remain tense, over Pakistan's continued support for Muslim Kashmiri insurgents. Relations with the US, on the other side, have improved over the last years; US President Bill Clinton paid a historical visit to India in March 2000. .

Domestic Policy : The elections following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 were won by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party); Atal Bihari Vajpayee became president. The party stresses Indian tradition, as opposed to Islam.
Recently major Indian cities were renamed : Bombay to Mumbai, Calcutta to Kolkata. The state of Mysore was renamed Karnataka. In 2000, in an administrative reform, 3 new states were created - Uttaranchal, split off from Uttar Pradesh; Jharkhand, split off from Bihar, and Chhattisgarh, split off from Madhya Pradesh.
In 2001. Phoolan Devi ("Bandit Queen") was assassinated.

Relations between India's Ethnic and Religious Communities . In 1992, an enraged mob destroyed the historical Babri Mosque in Ayodhya (formerly spelled Oudh, which herself, several century ago, had been constructed at a site previously occupied by a Hindu temple). Radical Hindus then wanted a Hindu temple to be constructed at that site. This temple since has been built. The demolition of the Babri Mosque caused Hindu-Muslim riots, most notably the Bombay Riots of 1992-1993; the nationwide death toll was 1,150 (BBoY 1993).

The Economy : In 1991 India produced 110 million metric tons of rice; the figure rose to 134 million in 1999. India's policy of economic liberalization (the cancellation of restrictions against the conversion of Rupees; the permission of the import of gold) showed considerable success. Until 1994, the total value of India's imports exceeded that of the country's exports; since 1992 the export figures sharply increased and by 1996 exports of 1.1 trillion rupees outnumbered imports of 0.84 trillion rupees (at an aggregate current value of 2003; IHS p.545).
In 1993 India ended her ban on Coca Cola. A showcase of India's modernizing economy is the computer software business centered on Bangalore (Karnataka). A success story is India's film industry centered on Bombay ("Bollywood"). Lately, outsourcing provides for a considerable number of new jobs in India's economy; India's large number of well-educated, close-native speakers of English, working for a much lower pay than U.S. or European high school or college graduates, attract service sector jobs. India joined the WTO in 1995.

Social History . In September 1999, it was announced that the billionth Indian was born - India's population continues to expand at a dramatical rate. India's population in 1991 was established by census as 843 million; the census of 2001 counted 1.021 billion.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		BJP Party History, from BJP, official site
India's Nuclear Weapons Program, from enviroweb
Ayodhya defused, from India Travel Times
Five Year Plans, from Planning Commission, Government of India
Political Sources on the Net : India
Global History of Currencies : India, by Bryan Taylor
Biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Article Bharatiya Janata Party, Article Five Year Plans of India, Republic of India, History of India : Independent India, Naxalite, Article Phoolan Devi, Article Babri Mosque, Article Bombay Riots, from Wikipedia
CASCON Case KAS : Kashmir 1947-, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
DOCUMENTS BBC, July 17th 1999 : The Kashmir War is over
President Clinton's Visit to India, links to newspaper articles from rediff.com
Documents for the history of India, from World History Archives
Historical Population Statistics : India, from Population Statistics, Univ. Utrecht
World Statesmen : India, by Ben Cahoon
REFERENCE IHS : International Historical Statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, edited by B.R. Mitchell, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 4th ed. 2003
Article : India, in : The Statesman's Year-Book 1992-1993 pp.701-771, 1993-1994 pp.704-770, 1994-1995 pp.696-762, 1995-1996 pp.693-759, 1996-1997 pp.635-701, 1997-1998 pp.640-707, 1998-1999 pp.690-758, 2000 pp.796-872, 2001 pp.774-849, 2002 pp.805-885, 2003 pp.807-887, 2004 pp.810-891 [G]
Entry : Travel Warnings - India, pp.505-507 in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2000, Supplement [G]
Entry : Republic of India, Cabinet, pp.47-49; Background Notes, pp.685-692, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2003 [G]
Entry : India, pp.558-561 in : IMF, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2001 [G]
Article : India, in : Americana Annual 1993 pp.276-278, 1994 pp.275-277, 1998 pp.272-274, 2006 pp.204-206 [G]
Article : India, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1992 pp.402-404, 619-620, 1993 pp. 404-406, 628-629, 1994 pp. 404-406, 627-628, 1995 pp. 419-420, 628-629, 1996 pp.416-418, 628-629, 1997 pp.430-432, 626-627, 2002 pp.437-438, 630-631 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on May 23rd 2002, last revised on May 11th 2007

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