CHAPTER 2 - The Historical Background. II

Abstract

This chapter presents a brief record of the events and problems occurring in India post its independence in 1947. The immediate aftermath of the departure of the British colonials was the advent of partition splitting India into India and Pakistan; the main sites of this event were the Punjab and Bengal. Grim as the refugee problem was in terms of human suffering, the political and economic issues arising out of Partition were even more distracting to the new governments. India badly needed money for internal development, and the obvious place to look for it was the United States, which would have been even more liberal if it had been assured of India's political support. The subsequent arming of Pakistan by American weapons was to become a source of worry for India that has lasted until present. The origins of the dispute with China provided another headache for the political layman. Subsequently, in the field of education, no serious concern was raised till the Second World War occurred. Then, the first dynamic attack was made on the problem of education, by the Wardha Scheme of Basic Education, sponsored by Mahatma Gandhi. At the time for those seeking a new approach to the whole field of educational and social planning, it was a momentous affair; it still holds importance in the new and independent India.