Page 163 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol Two

512 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever
has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until
liberty be lost in the pursuit. • James Madison (1751–1836)

French-speaking province, challenged the legitimacy of Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi (1917–1984), served
Canada, a primarily English-speaking country, for al- as prime minister from 1966 to 1977. Concerned about
legedly excluding French-speaking citizens from basic India’s population growth, she pursued harsh steriliza-
rights on linguistic and ethnic bases. tion policies. That pursuit led her to subvert democracy
On the eve of the 1980 referendum that would have by introducing a state of emergency in 1975. Neverthe-
allowed Quebec to commence on a path of indepen- less, trying to legitimize her deeds, she felt compelled two
dence, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau years later to call parliamentary elections, which she
(1919–2000) felt compelled to promise all Canadian cit- lost. Gandhi surrendered power freely to her opponents;
izens, especially those living in Quebec, that he would ini- she returned to office in 1980. She was murdered in
tiate comprehensive constitutional reforms that would 1984 by Sikh extremists who purportedly acted to avenge
enshrine a form of pluralistic democracy. Indeed, in the desecration of their holy sites in her fight to assert her
1982 Trudeau’s government revised substantially the control over all segments of Indian society.
Canadian constitution, guaranteeing federally, through
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, all basic civil liber- United States after
ties while allowing provinces a strong degree of provin- September 11, 2001
cial autonomy.To date, this strategy has helped maintain As part of the U.S. war on terrorism after the terrorist
Canadian unity. attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., on
September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress in November
India 2001 enacted the controversial Patriot Act. The act cur-
Postcolonial India, the most populous country ever to tailed civil liberties for a limited time because of national
have a constitutional democracy, is an example of how security concerns, causing some people to be concerned
constitutional democracy can shape an emerging nation. about the long-term impact on constitutional guarantees
After a painful struggle with the British and a war with of freedom of speech and expression.The United States
Islamic communities, India rose to independence in also attempted to introduce constitutional democracy to
1947. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) was India’s first Afghanistan and Iraq after liberating the two nations
prime minister (1947–1964).Although Nehru deployed from oppressive rule in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
military force against opponents, he championed an
Itai Sneh
inclusive, pluralistic, polyethnic, multicultural state.
Nehru largely endorsed the nonviolent practices of the See also Parliamentarianism; Revolution—United States
Indian nationalist Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi (1869–
1948).
By proclaiming a constitutional democracy, Nehru Further Reading
positioned himself, and the Congress Party he led, as the Black, J. (2000). New history of England. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishers.
Bumsted, J. M. (1998). History of the Canadian peoples. New York:
custodian of federal identity, mediating between contest- Oxford University Press.
ing castes and ethnic, religious, and regional constituen- Carey, C. (2000). Democracy in classical Athens. London: Bristol Clas-
sical Press.
cies. The guarantee of freedoms played a major role in
Freeman, M. (2003). Freedom or security:The consequences for democra-
securing India’s viability in the face of internal separatist cies using emergency powers to fight terror. Westport, CT: Praeger.
ethnic nationalism and external adversity. In particular Gordon, S. (1999). Controlling the state: Constitutionalism from ancient
Athens to today. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Nehru tried to enlist the support of vulnerable groups of Iadicola, P., & Shupe, A. (2003). Violence, inequality, and human free-
people such as women and untouchables through writ- dom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Keay, J. (2000). India: A history. New York: Atlantic Press.
ten rights that improved their legal status, although prac-
Manin, B. (1997). Principles of representative government. Cambridge,
tical changes were slow to come. UK: Cambridge University Press.