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| India (Republic of India) |
State in the south of Asia.
Territory - 3.28 million sq. km.
Population - about 650 million (at the beginning of 1980); there are several hundred nations, nationalities and tribal groups, the largest of which are Hindustans, Telugu, Marathi, Bengalis, Tamils, Gujarati, Kanpara, Punjabis, etc.
The capital is Delhi (5 million inhabitants).
The official language is Hindi and (temporarily) English. 83% of the population professes Hinduism, 11% - Islam, 2.6% - Christianity, 1.9% - Sikhism, 0.7% - Buddhism.
India is one of the oldest countries in the world (the earliest settlements date back to the 3rd millennium BC). For almost 200 years it was under the rule of the British colonialists. The Indian people fought hard for their liberation. The major events of this struggle were the popular uprising of 1857-59. (the so-called Sipai uprising), national liberation movements in 1918-22, 1928-33. and 1942, led by such prominent figures as M. Gandhi and J. Nehru, the uprising of Indian naval sailors in 1946. On August 15, 1947, India achieved independence, having received the status of dominion. On 26 January 1950, it was proclaimed a republic. 13.IV 1947 the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with India.
During the years of independence, under the leadership of the Indian National Congress (INC) party, which came to power in 1947, important socio-economic reforms were carried out in India aimed at limiting landlord ownership, strengthening the public sector in the economy, raising agricultural production, strengthening political independence country.
The process of demarcation of political forces, which has intensified in recent years in India, caused by the aggravation of socio-political contradictions, has also captured the INC. At the same time, a number of opposition parties intensified their activities in the country. As a result, the INC was defeated in the 1977 parliamentary elections and, after a 30-year rule, ceded power in the country to a bloc of opposition parties — the Janata Party.
However, during the period of the new leadership in the country, social tension increased even more. The offensive of the monopolies and large landowners on the rights of the working people intensified, the number of strikes increased, unrest broke out in the countryside, and the contradictions between various political groupings deepened.
Having lost the support of the majority in the People's Chamber of Parliament, the government of the Janata Party resigned ahead of schedule (7/15/1979). After an unsuccessful attempt to form a new government on the basis of the old composition of the parliament, the country announced its dissolution and the appointment of new, early parliamentary elections. The elections to the House of the People, held in January 1980, ended in a convincing victory for the Indian National Congress, headed by Sh. Gandhi. The left-wing parties of India, acting as a united front, achieved significant success in the elections. Moreover, the communists won the largest number of seats in parliament among other opposition parties. This success is the result of the selfless work of the communists among the masses, their struggle in defense of the interests of the working class, the working peasantry and other poorest strata of Indian society.
The government of I. Gandhi declared its main task to consistently pursue the course of J. Nehru in domestic and foreign policy, the implementation of the 20-point program of socio-economic measures put forward by the INC in 1975, aimed at improving the situation of the poorest strata of the population. In the field of foreign policy, India has traditionally pursued a course of non-alignment, peaceful coexistence and cooperation with all countries. All-round friendly Soviet-Indian relations are developing successfully on the basis of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation between the USSR and India, signed on August 9, 1971.
India is striving to consistently pursue a line on normalizing the situation in the South Asian region. In 1976, diplomatic relations were restored between India and Pakistan; in 1977-79 - resolved some of the controversial issues that existed between India, Bangladesh, Sri Lapka and Nepal. Attempts by the Indian government to normalize relations with China, which claims a significant part of India's territory, did not bring the desired results due to the openly expansionist policy of the Chinese leadership. India has consistently advocated turning the Indian Ocean into a zone of peace, against the course of US imperialism and other aggressive forces towards arming Pakistan and turning it into a springboard for the struggle against the people's democratic regime in Afghanistan.
According to the constitution, executive power belongs to the president (who is also the head of state), the vice president and the Council of Ministers headed by the prime minister (since January 1980 - I. Gandhi). The President is elected for 5 years (since July 1977 the President is S. Reddy). The president appoints the prime minister and members of the government (on the recommendation of the prime minister) and is the supreme commander of the armed forces. In practice, executive power is exercised on behalf of the President by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, consisting of the House of the People (lower) and the Council of States (upper).
Indian National Congress (INC) - created in 1885, one of the largest parties of the national bourgeoisie. In 1947-77. was in power, in 1977-79. was in opposition, since January 1980 it again became the ruling party. INC Chairman - I. Gandhi. Parallel Indian National Congress - created in January 1978 by a group of leaders from the INC. The party is going through an acute crisis. Janata part - created in May 1977, it included parties and groups that participated in the 1977 election bloc - Jana Sangh, the Congress Organization, Bharatiya Lok Dal, socialists and a number of former congressmen. Lok dal - was founded in July 1979 by a group of members of parliament who left the Janata Party. Represents the interests of the well-to-do and middle peasantry. Bharatiya Janata Party - was founded in April 1980 by a group of former members. the religious-communal party Jan Sangh,
The Communist Party of India (KPI) - was established in December 1925. The 11th Congress of the KPI (31.111-7.IV 1978) defined the party's tasks to develop a mass struggle for the fundamental interests of the working people, to ideologically and organizationally unite the party ranks, to strengthen the role of the KPI in political life of the country.
The congress emphasized the need for unity of action by all the left and democratic forces of the country, and above all the KPI and KPI (m). j-Ja Congress expressed solidarity of the KPI with the CPSU and with the entire international communist movement. General Secretary of the National Council of the KPI - Rajeshwara Rao. The central press is the Jan Yug daily (in Hindi), the weekly Nyo Age (in English) and Hayat (in Urdu).
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) - KPI (M) - was founded at the end of 1964. The X Congress of the KPI (M), held on April 2-8, 1978, put forward the slogan of rallying all left-wing and democratic forces. Recently, the leadership of the KPI (M) has criticized the foreign policy course of the Chinese leadership, its blocking with US imperialism. General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KPI (m) - E. M. Sh. Nambudiripad. The central organ is the Peeples Democracy weekly (in English).
Main trade union associations: Indian National Congress of Trade Unions - under the leadership of the INC; All-India Congress of Trade Unions - works under the leadership of the KPI; ... Center for Indian Trade Unions - under the leadership of the KPI (m); Hind Mazdur Panchayat (Council of Indian Workers) and Hind Mazdur Sabha (Assembly of Indian Workers) - work under the leadership of former Socialist Party leaders; Bharatiya Mazdur Sangh (Union of Indian Workers) - operates under the leadership of the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The largest peasant organization, the Kisan Sabha (All India Peasant Assembly), is under the influence of the KPI. The Bharatiya Khet Mazdur Union (Union of Agricultural Workers of India) also operates under the leadership of the KPI.
Public organizations: All India Peace and Solidarity Organization, National Federation of Indian Women (member of IDFJ), All India Youth Federation (member of WFDY), Bse-Indian Congress of Students.
India is an agro-industrial country. Has huge natural resources. Coal reserves are estimated at 121.4 billion tons, iron ore reserves - at 22.4 billion tons (one of the largest in the world); there are also bauxite, copper, oil, manganese.
Agriculture employs about 70% of the independent population, in Promet - less than 20%. During the capitalist industrialization of India, monopolies took significant positions in the economy. The largest Indian and foreign monopoly groups and monopolies now account for about 75% of the total assets of all private joint stock companies. The Government of India is taking certain measures to restrict the activities of the monopolies.
During the years of independence, India has made significant progress in transforming the economy inherited from the colonialists. The course towards industrialization under conditions of protectionism and the widespread introduction of various forms of state capitalist regulation of the economy (planning, creation of a public sector, licensing, control over prices, exports, imports, etc.) contributed to the growth of industrial. production (the volume of industrial products for the years of independence has increased more than 3 times). The most rapidly growing branches of heavy industry and energy. Of particular importance for the development of nat. India's economy has created and accelerated the development of the public sector. Now its share in GNP is 20%, and in a number of important industries it holds leading positions.
The basis of the public sector is made up of enterprises built or under construction with the assistance of the USSR (over 70 facilities, of which more than 50 have already been commissioned). Among the existing enterprises -. Metallurgical plant in Bokaro, Steel Plant in Bhilai, heavy engineering plant in Ranchi, mining equipment in Durgapur, heavy electrical equipment in Hardwar, antibiotics in Rishikesh, etc. The share of enterprises built in India with the assistance of the Soviet Union , it is necessary 1/3 of oil refining, over 40% of steel production, 20% of electricity.
In 1978/79, India produced 103 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, 19.5 million tons of cement, 9 million tons of steel, 8 billion cubic meters of cotton-wool. fabrics, 37 million tons of iron ore, 12.5 million tons of oil, 102 million tons of coal were produced.
In recent years, a complex of agrotechnical measures has been carried out in the agriculture of India, known as the "green revolution". This made it possible to significantly increase the collection of food grain (in 1979 - 130.5 million tons). However, the fruits of the "green revolution" are used mainly by large landowners and well-to-do peasants - kulaks. The bulk of the rural population of India suffers from landlessness and land scarcity. According to official figures, 22% of the rural population has no land at all, and 62% own plots of up to 5 acres (1 acre = 0.4 ha). In the hands of 3% of landowners with plots of more than 30 plots, 23.6% of the cultivated land is concentrated.
Length of rail Roads - over 61 thousand km, highways - over 1.3 million km, including hard surface - 541 thousand km. Ia share of railroad transport accounts for 80% of freight and 70% of passenger traffic. Motor transport is developed.
Tonnage of the merchant marine fleet - 5.1 mln. t (1977).
The monetary unit is the Indian rupee. 100 ind. rup. = RUB 8.1 (February 1980).
Jute products, mechanical engineering and metalworking products, sugar, h.-b. fabrics, tea, leather, etc .; imported oil and oil products, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fertilizers, metals, etc.
Major foreign trade partners: USA, USSR , Japan, England, Germany, many developing countries. India's trade with the socialist countries is growing.
According to official data, by mid-1979, 13 million unemployed were registered at labor exchanges. There are also a large number of partially unemployed people.
It is officially recognized that over 40% of the country's population lives on incomes below the poverty line. Almost 70% of the population is illiterate.
The country is undergoing a campaign to eradicate illiteracy by introducing compulsory education for children under the age of 14.
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