169-588: The Kartarpur Corridor ( Punjabi : ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ ( Gurmukhi ) , کرتارپور لانگھا ( Shahmukhi ) , romanized: kartārpur lāṅghā ; Urdu : کرتارپور راہداری , romanized : kartār pūr rāhdārī ) is a visa -free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib , near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak , Gurdaspur district , Punjab , India . The crossing allows devotees from India to visit
338-581: A mixed economy where the government-controlled public sector co-existed with the private sector . He believed the establishment of basic and heavy industries was fundamental to the development and modernisation of the Indian economy. The Nehru government directed investment primarily into key public sector industries—steel, iron, coal, and power—promoting their development with subsidies and protectionist policies. Nehru embraced secularism, socialistic economic practices based on state-driven industrialisation, and
507-517: A non-aligned and non-confrontational foreign policy that became typical of the modern Congress Party. The policy of non-alignment during the Cold War meant Nehru received financial and technical support from both the Eastern and Western Blocs to build India's industrial base from nothing. During his period in office, there were four known assassination attempts on Nehru. The first attempt on his life
676-497: A pan-Indian organization for nationalist political influence. In 1883, Allan Octavian Hume , a retired British Civil Servant also known for his pro-Indian activities, outlined his idea for a body representing Indian interests in an open letter to graduates of the University of Calcutta . The aim was to obtain a greater share in government for educated Indians and to create a platform for civic and political dialogue between them and
845-556: A Government in any Province. Congress Ministers resigned in October and November 1939 in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow 's declaration that India was a belligerent in World War II without consulting the Indian people . In 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose , the elected President of India in both 1938 and 1939, resigned from Congress over the selection of the working committee. Congress
1014-485: A cattle shed for the villagers and its lands were taken over by share-croppers . Since 2003, however, the Pakistani government has reportedly taken initiatives for the upkeep of Sikh religious shrines. During the tenure of Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee , the opening of Kartarpur border crossing was first discussed in 1998. After further discussions during the 1999 bus diplomacy , Pakistan renovated
1183-586: A common wall between them. The changing course of the Ravi River eventually washed away the mausoleums. A new habitation was formed, representing the present-day Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of the Ravi river. After the 1947 partition of India , the region was divided between India and Pakistan. The Radcliffe Line awarded the Shakargarh tehsil on the right bank of the Ravi River, including Kartarpur, to Pakistan, and
1352-654: A consensus candidate could be picked. Following the election, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was chosen as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi was chosen as the deputy leader in Lok Sabha, and Ravneet Singh Bittu was chosen as the party whip. Based on an analysis of the candidates' poll affidavits, a report by the National Election Watch (NEW) and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that,
1521-457: A degree of anti-incumbency sentiment. The 1996 general elections witnessed the emergence of a fractured mandate, leading to the absence of a clear majority for any single party. Congress was reduced to 140 seats in elections that year, its lowest number in the Lok Sabha yet. Rao later resigned as prime minister and, in September, as party president. He was succeeded as president by Sitaram Kesri ,
1690-572: A liberal approach. Through Persian, Punjabi also absorbed many Arabic-derived words like dukān , ġazal and more, as well as Turkic words like qēncī , sōġāt , etc. After the fall of the Sikh empire , Urdu was made the official language of Punjab under the British (in Pakistani Punjab , it is still the primary official language) and influenced the language as well. In the second millennium , Punjabi
1859-649: A national hero following victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 . His slogan, " Jai Jawan Jai Kisan " ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), became very popular during the war. On 11 January 1966, a day after signing the Tashkent Declaration , Shastri died in Tashkent, reportedly of a heart attack; but the circumstances of his death remain mysterious. After Shastri's death, Congress elected Indira Gandhi as leader over Morarji Desai . Once again, K. Kamaraj
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#17328524454062028-487: A nationwide public opinion that British colonialism was the primary reason for India’s poverty and economic exploitation. The moderate leaders had several demands, including proper representation of Indians on the Legislative Councils and an increase in the powers of these councils. They also advocated for administrative reforms and voiced their opinions on international issues. They opposed the annexation of Burma ,
2197-435: A new opposition party, popularly called Congress (I)—the "I" signifying Indira. During the next year, her new party attracted enough members of the legislature to become the official opposition. In November 1978, Gandhi regained a parliamentary seat. In January 1980, following a landslide victory for Congress (I), she was again elected prime minister. The national election commission declared Congress (I) to be
2366-583: A new parliamentary leader of the Congress party who would then become prime minister. During the leadership contest to succeed Nehru, the preference was between Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shashtri. Eventually, Shashtri was selected as the next parliamentary leader thus the Prime Minister. Kamaraj was widely credited as the "kingmaker" in for ensuring the victory of Lal Bahadur Shastri over Morarji Desai. As prime minister, Shastri retained most of members of Nehru's Council of Ministers ; T. T. Krishnamachari
2535-524: A pair of bullocks carrying a yoke while Indira's breakaway faction was given a new symbol of a cow with a suckling calf by the Election Commission as the party election symbol. The Congress (O) eventually merged with other opposition parties to form the Janata Party . "India might be an ancient country but was a young democracy and as such should remain vigilant against the domination of few over
2704-526: A peace zone" connecting shrines on both sides of the border. On 28 June 2008, the Indian foreign minister at the time, Pranab Mukherjee , said that the Indian government would carry out a feasibility study for the peace corridor. However, since the 2008 Mumbai attacks took place, the relations between India and Pakistan nosedived and the initiative faltered. Members of the Sikh community in Washington DC worked with
2873-560: A power grid station, tourist information centre and several offices. It also has a 13-bedded Medical Centre founded by Dr. Umair, a known physician of town. Over 400 acres of land was acquired by the Pakistani government to establish the main complex and its surrounding areas. The main complex has been expanded 10 times from its original 4 acres to 42 acres. The masterplan of the complex has been prepared with visitors from countries other than India in mind. In November 2018, foundation stones for
3042-411: A result of prevailing nationalism, Gandhi's popularity, and the party's attempts at eradicating caste differences, untouchability , poverty, and religious and ethnic divisions, Congress became a forceful and dominant group. Although its members were predominantly Hindu, it had members from other religions, economic classes, and ethnic and linguistic groups. At the Congress 1929 Lahore session under
3211-518: A result, unrepresentative of the Indian masses at the time, it functioned more as a stage for elite Indian ambitions than a political party for the first two decade of its existence. Since its establishment, the Congress was led by Moderate leaders, who were influenced by Western political ideas, particularly liberalism . They emphasized individual dignity, the right to freedom , and equality for all, regardless of caste, creed, or sex. This philosophy guided them in opposing British autocracy, demanding
3380-664: A sharp break from previous leaders. However, it lost the 1996 general election and was replaced in government by the National Front. After a record eight years out of office, the Congress-led coalition known as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) under Manmohan Singh formed a government the 2004 general elections . Subsequently, the UPA again formed the government after winning the 2009 general elections , and Singh became
3549-410: A split occurred between two factions within the Congress known as Surat Split . Annie Besant , an Irish theosophist, moved to India in 1893 and became actively involved in the Congress. Recognizing the importance of full cooperation from the extremists for the success of the movement, both Tilak and Besant realized that it was necessary to secure the full cooperation of the moderates. In 1915, during
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#17328524454063718-465: A strong welfare state . Being a centrist party, its policies predominantly reflected balanced positions including secularism , egalitarianism , and social stratification . The INC supports contemporary economic reforms such as liberalisation , privatisation and globalization . A total of 61 people have served as the president of the INC since its formation. Sonia Gandhi is the longest-serving president of
3887-404: A visa on a daily basis. Under the agreement, the pilgrims would come in the morning and return in the evening after visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Each visitor would be required to pay USD $ 20 as a service charge, which as per Pakistan Foreign Office's DG South Asia & SAARC Mohammad Faisal, would only cover one-third of the current operational cost. India however, had urged Pakistan to waive off
4056-706: A word will be pronounced, and vice versa. Tone is often reduced or rarely deleted when words are said with emphasis or on their own as a form of more exact identification. Sequences with the consonant h have some additional gimmicks: The consonant h on its own is now silent or very weakly pronounced except word-initially. However, certain dialects which exert stronger tone, particularly more northern Punjabi varieties and Dogri , pronounce h as very faint (thus tonal) in all cases. E.g. hatth > àtth . The Jhangvi and Shahpuri dialects of Punjabi (as they transition into Saraiki ) show comparatively less realisation of tone than other Punjabi varieties, and do not induce
4225-482: Is a tendency with speakers to insert /ɪ̯/ between adjacent "a"-vowels as a separator. This usually changes to /ʊ̯/ if either vowel is nasalised. Note: for the tonal stops, refer to the next section about Tone. The three retroflex consonants /ɳ, ɽ, ɭ/ do not occur initially, and the nasals [ŋ, ɲ] most commonly occur as allophones of /n/ in clusters with velars and palatals (there are few exceptions). The well-established phoneme /ʃ/ may be realised allophonically as
4394-497: Is additionally structured into various committees and segments including the Working Committee (CWC), Seva Dal , Indian Youth Congress (IYC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), and National Students' Union of India (NSUI). The party holds the annual plenary sessions, at which senior Congress figures promote party policy. During the latter part of the 1870s, there were concerted efforts among Indians to establish
4563-436: Is always written as نگ . Like Hindustani , the diphthongs /əɪ/ and /əʊ/ have mostly disappeared, but are still retained in some dialects. Phonotactically , long vowels /aː, iː, uː/ are treated as doubles of their short vowel counterparts /ə, ɪ, ʊ/ rather than separate phonemes. Hence, diphthongs like ai and au get monophthongised into /eː/ and /oː/, and āi and āu into /ɛː/ and /ɔː/ respectively. The phoneme /j/
4732-577: Is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India . It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world with approximately 150 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 88.9 million native speakers according to the 2023 Pakistani census , and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to
4901-511: Is identical to the Urdu alphabet , however various attempts have been made to create certain, distinct characters from a modification of the Persian Nastaʿlīq characters to represent Punjabi phonology , not already found in the Urdu alphabet . In Pakistan, Punjabi loans technical words from Persian and Arabic , just like Urdu does. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan ,
5070-403: Is not only opening the border but also their hearts for the Sikh community." Ahead of Guru Nanak's 550th Prakash Purab celebrations, the corridor was open on 9 November 2019, facilitating the first Jatha (batch) of more than 550 pilgrims to travel to the final resting place of Guru Nanak. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the move and compared the decision for the corridor between
5239-402: Is termed 'Old Punjabi', whilst the stage between the 16th and 19th centuries is termed as 'Medieval Punjabi'. The Arabic and Modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent . Since then, many Persian words have been incorporated into Punjabi (such as zamīn , śahir etc.) and are used with
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5408-502: Is very fluid in Punjabi. /j/ is only truly pronounced word-initially (even then it often becomes /d͡ʒ/), where it is otherwise /ɪ/ or /i/. Unusually for an Indo-Aryan language, Punjabi distinguishes lexical tones . Three tones are distinguished in Punjabi (some sources have described these as tone contours, given in parentheses): low (high-falling), high (low-rising), and level (neutral or middle). The transcriptions and tone annotations in
5577-618: Is widely used in the TV and entertainment industry of Pakistan, which is mainly produced in Lahore . The Standard Punjabi used in India and Pakistan have slight differences. In India, it discludes many of the dialect-specific features of Majhi. In Pakistan, the standard is closer to the Majhi spoken in the urban parts of Lahore. "Eastern Punjabi" refers to the varieties of Punjabi spoken in Pakistani Punjab (specifically Northern Punjabi), most of Indian Punjab ,
5746-878: The 2011 census . It is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora , particularly in Canada , the United Kingdom , the United States , Australia , and the Gulf states . In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet , based on the Perso-Arabic script ; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet , based on the Indic scripts . Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and
5915-471: The 2019 election , due to the party's dismal electoral performance. The party only won 52 seats, eight more than the previous election. Its vote percentage once again fell below 20 per cent. Following Gandhi's resignation, party leaders began deliberations for a suitable candidate to replace him. The Congress Working Committee met on 10 August to make a final decision on the matter and passed a resolution asking Sonia Gandhi to take over as interim president until
6084-736: The British Raj . Hume initiated contact with prominent leaders in India and conducted the first session of the Indian National Congress at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885. A notice convening the first meeting of the Indian National Union to be held in Poona the following December, was issued. However, due to a cholera outbreak there it was moved to Bombay. In its first two decades of formation, Congress
6253-625: The COVID-19 pandemic . Both India and Pakistan have allowed citizens to visit the Gurdwara on the condition that they carry both a negative COVID-19 test and are fully vaccinated. The first guru of Sikhism , Guru Nanak , founded Kartarpur in 1504 CE on the right bank of the Ravi River and established the first Sikh commune there. Following his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him as their own and raised mausoleums in his memory with
6422-659: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), and various regional parties, such as the Telugu Desam Party , Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party . A post- partition successor to the party survived as the Pakistan National Congress , a party which represented the rights of religious minorities in the state. The party's support was strongest in the Bengali-speaking province of East Pakistan . After
6591-683: The Congress Party or simply the Congress , is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi , the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement . The Congress led India to independence from
6760-536: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) held an election for the next president of the INC, to succeed Rahul Gandhi. The election was held on 17 October 2022 and counting took place on 19 October 2022. The candidates in the race were Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor and Karnataka MP Mallikarjun Kharge . Mallikarjun Kharge won the election in a landslide, securing 7,897 out of the 9,385 votes cast. His rival, Shashi Tharoor, secured 1,072 votes. Kharge would lead
6929-471: The Government of Delhi will bear all expenses and cost of Kartarpur Sahib pilgrimage under Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana. There are several other proposals for opening of similar visa-free corridors to Sikh religious and historic places that are situated within 4 kilometers of international borders. Punjabi language Europe North America Oceania Punjabi , sometimes spelled Panjabi ,
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7098-793: The Gurdaspur tehsil on the left bank of Ravi to India. In 1948, the Akali Dal demanded that India should acquire the land of the gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur. The demands persisted till 1959, but the Punjab state government controlled by the Indian National Congress advised against any modification of the boundary fixed by the Radcliffe Award . For many years following partition, Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur informally by crossing
7267-461: The Hazara region , most of Azad Kashmir and small parts of Indian Punjab such as Fazilka . These include groups of dialects like Saraiki , Pahari-Pothwari , Hindko and the extinct Inku ; common dialects like Jhangvi , Shahpuri , Dhanni and Thali which are usually grouped under the term Jatki Punjabi; and the mixed variety of Punjabi and Sindhi called Khetrani . Depending on context,
7436-589: The Hindi Belt . Indira Gandhi, on the other side, wanted to use a populist agenda in order to mobilise popular support for the party. Her faction, called Congress (R), was supported by most of the Congress MPs while the original party had the support of only 65 MPs. In the All India Congress Committee, 446 of its 705 members walked over to Indira's side. The "Old Congress" retained the party symbol of
7605-521: The Indian Army to enter the Golden Temple to establish control over the complex and remove Bhindranwale and his armed followers. This event is known as Operation Blue Star . On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh , shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the prime minister's residence in response to her authorisation of Operation Blue Star. Gandhi
7774-846: The Industries portfolio , was personally responsible for the dismantling of the Licence Raj , which came under the purview of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj, reversing the socialist policies of previous governments. He employed Manmohan Singh as his finance minister to begin historic economic changes. With Rao's mandate, Singh launched reforms for India's globalisation that involved implementing International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies to prevent India's impending economic collapse . Future prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh continued
7943-454: The Kamaraj Plan to Nehru that encouraged six Congress chief ministers (including himself) and six senior cabinet ministers to resign to take up party work. In 1964, Nehru died because of an aortic dissection , raising questions about the party's future. Following the death of Nehru, Gulzarilal Nanda was appointed as the interim prime minister on 27 May 1964, pending the election of
8112-683: The Majha region of the Punjab. In India , Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhī script in offices, schools, and media. Gurmukhi is the official standard script for Punjabi, though it is often unofficially written in the Latin scripts due to influence from English , one of India's two primary official languages at the Union -level. In Pakistan, Punjabi is generally written using the Shahmukhī script, which in literary standards,
8281-457: The Nath Yogi -era from 9th to 14th century. The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa , though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore. Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri . The precursor stage of Punjabi between the 10th and 16th centuries
8450-516: The Right to Information Act , and a right to education act. The NAC, as well as the Left Front that supported the government from the outside, were widely seen as being the driving force behind such legislation. The Left Front withdrew its support of the government over disagreements about the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement . Despite the effective loss of 62 seats in parliament, the government survived
8619-703: The Soviet Union . In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962, and the formation of military ties between China and Pakistan, Shastri's government expanded the defence budget of India's armed forces. He also promoted the White Revolution—a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk by creating the National Dairy Development Board . The Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 occurred during Shastri's tenure. Shastri became
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#17328524454068788-453: The Supreme Court . In response to increasing disorder and lawlessness, Gandhi's ministry recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a State of Emergency , based on the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution . During the nineteen-month emergency , widespread oppression and abuse of power by Gandhi's unelected younger son and political heir Sanjay Gandhi and his close associates occurred. Implemented on 25 June 1975,
8957-463: The United Kingdom , and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire. The INC is a " big tent " party that has been described as sitting on the centre of the Indian political spectrum. The party held its first session in 1885 in Bombay where W.C. Bonnerjee presided over it. After Indian independence in 1947, Congress emerged as a catch-all and secular party, dominating Indian politics for
9126-413: The h consonant itself and any voiced consonants appended with [h] (Gurmukhi: ੍ਹ "perī̃ hāhā" , Shahmukhi: ھ "dō-caśmī hē" ); usually ṛh , mh , nh , rh and lh . The five tonal plosives also become voiceless word-initially. E.g. ghar > kàr "house", ḍhōl > ṭṑl "drum" etc. Tonogenesis in Punjabi forfeits the sound of [h] for tone. Thus, the more [h] is realised, the less "tonal"
9295-408: The official opposition yet again. In the 2024 general election , the party performed better-than-expected, and won 99 seats later becoming 101, forming the official opposition with their highest seat count in a decade. On social issues, it advocates secular policies that encourage equal opportunity , right to health , right to education , civil liberty , and support social market economy , and
9464-447: The voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] in learned clusters with retroflexes. Due to its foreign origin, it is often also realised as [s] , in e.g. shalwār /salᵊ.ʋaːɾᵊ/ . The phonemic status of the consonants /f, z, x, ɣ, q/ varies with familiarity with Hindustani norms, more so with the Gurmukhi script, with the pairs /f, pʰ/ , /z, d͡ʒ/ , /x, kʰ/ , /ɣ, g/ , and /q, k/ systematically distinguished in educated speech, /q/ being
9633-412: The 1969 nationalisation of India's 14 largest banks. The 1969 attempt by Indira Gandhi government to abolish privy purse and the official recognition of the titles did not meet with success. The constitutional Amendment bill to this effect was passed in Lok Sabha, but it failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. However, in 1971, with the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to
9802-608: The 1981 and 2017 censuses respectively, speakers of the Western Punjabi 's Saraiki and Hindko varieties were no longer included in the total numbers for Punjabi, which explains the apparent decrease. Pothwari speakers however are included in the total numbers for Punjabi. Punjabi is the official language of the Indian state of Punjab , and has the status of an additional official language in Haryana and Delhi. Some of its major urban centres in northern India are Amritsar , Ludhiana , Chandigarh , Jalandhar , Ambala , Patiala , Bathinda , Hoshiarpur , Firozpur and Delhi . In
9971-408: The 19th century from the Medieval Punjabi stage. Modern Punjabi has two main varieties, Western Punjabi and Eastern Punjabi , which have many dialects and forms, altogether spoken by over 150 million people. The Majhi dialect , which is transitional between the two main varieties, has been adopted as standard Punjabi in India and Pakistan for education and mass media. The Majhi dialect originated in
10140-504: The 2011 census of India, 31.14 million reported their language as Punjabi. The census publications group this with speakers of related "mother tongues" like Bagri and Bhateali to arrive at the figure of 33.12 million. Punjabi is also spoken as a minority language in several other countries where Punjabi people have emigrated in large numbers, such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada. There were 670,000 native Punjabi speakers in Canada in 2021, 300,000 in
10309-439: The 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak and attended the inauguration ceremony on the special invitation from the then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan . Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, speaking on the occasion, thanked both governments for corridor. Navjot Singh Sidhu in his speech said that Prime Minister Khan had won the heart of Sikh community by opening the corridor. He mentioned that Alexander III of Macedon won
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#173285244540610478-444: The Bangladeshi War of Independence, it became known as the Bangladeshi National Congress , but was dissolved in 1975 by the government. From 1951 until his death in 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru was the paramount leader of the party. Congress gained power in landslide victories in the general elections of 1951–52, 1957, and 1962. During his tenure, Nehru implemented policies based on import substitution industrialisation , and advocated
10647-432: The Bombay Presidency Association, Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha , social reformer and newspaper editor Gopal Ganesh Agarkar , Justice K. T. Telang , N. G. Chandavarkar , Dinshaw Wacha , Behramji Malabari , journalist, and activist Gooty Kesava Pillai , and P. Rangaiah Naidu of the Madras Mahajana Sabha . The majority of the founding members of Congress has been educated or lived in Britain. As
10816-406: The British Empire. Herfeafter, the Moderates followed a two-fold approach to achieve their goals. First, they aimed to build strong public opinion to inspire a sense of national consciousness and unity, while educating the masses on shared political issues. Second, they sought to influence both the British government and public opinion, advocating for reforms in India that aligned with the demands of
10985-496: The British and focused on building mass support instilling in them a sense of self -respect, self-reliance, pride in their ancient heritage and national unity to attain their objectives. The Extremist leaders opposed the use of violence against British rule and did not condone methods such as political murder and assassination. They successfully engaged the urban middle and lower classes, as well as mobilized peasants and workers. The Extremist leaders utilized religious symbols to inspire
11154-434: The British war effort, Mahatma Gandhi made a call to " Do or Die " in his Quit India movement delivered in Bombay on 8 August 1942 at the Gowalia Tank Maidan and opposed any help to the British in World War II . The British government responded with mass arrests including that of Gandhi and Congress leaders and killed over 1,000 Indians who participated in this movement. A number of violent attacks were also carried out by
11323-435: The Congress has highest political defection rate since 2014. According to the report, a total of 222 electoral candidates had left the Congress to join other parties during elections held between 2014 and 2021, as 177 MPs and MLAs quit the party. The defections resulted in a loss of the party's established governments in Arunachal Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh , Goa , Karnataka , Puducherry , and Manipur . On 28 August 2022,
11492-406: The Constitution of India, the privy purses were abolished. Due to Sino-Indian War 1962, India faced a huge budgetary deficit resulting in its treasury being almost empty, high inflation, and dwindling forex reserves. The brief War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus towards the defence industry and the Indian Army . The government found itself short of resources to fund
11661-426: The Dera Baba Nanak–Kartarpur corridor on Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary. Given the clear time frame, this set the ball rolling. In August 2018, another resolution related to the corridor in the Indian Punjab Vidhan Sabha was moved by then chief minister Amarinder Singh , which was passed unanimously. Following this the government of Indian Punjab decided to approach the prime minister of India related to
11830-457: The Emergency officially ended on 21 March 1977. All political prisoners were released and fresh elections for the Lok Sabha were called. In parliamentary elections held in March, the Janata alliance of anti-Indira opposition parties won a landslide victory over Congress, winning 295 seats in the Lok Sabha against Congress' 153. Gandhi lost her seat to her Janata opponent Raj Narain . On 2 January 1978, Indira and her followers seceded and formed
11999-405: The Five Rivers'. Panj is cognate with Sanskrit pañca ( पञ्च ), Greek pénte ( πέντε ), and Lithuanian Penki , all of which meaning 'five'; āb is cognate with Sanskrit áp ( अप् ) and with the Av- of Avon . The historical Punjab region , now divided between India and Pakistan, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries . One of
12168-767: The Indian National Congress to support their proposal to set up Home Rule leagues. As a result, they established separate leagues. Tilak launched the Indian Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum , with its headquarters in Poona . His league operated primarily in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay), Karnataka , and the Central Provinces and Berar . In contrast, Besant set up her All-India Home Rule League in September 1916 in Madras , which grew to include over 200 branches across
12337-525: The Indian government decided against availing "concessions" announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that passport would be required per the agreement between the two countries. In October 2024, India and Pakistan renewed their agreement to enable pilgrims through the corridor for an additional five-year period. The Gurudwara complex will have an international standard hotel, hundreds of apartments, two commercial areas and two car parking lots, border facility area,
12506-452: The Indian government simplify the process. Important conditions of travel include: Lahore-based historian, Fakir S. Aijazuddin , characterised the corridor as a "unique experiment" in cross-border ties between India and Pakistan. He claimed that universality symbolised by Guru Nanak can bring the people of all religions together. The corridor has been described as Guru Nanak's legacy project depicting his way of living life. A special episode
12675-462: The Indian troops he sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 to help enforce a peace accord there had fought with Tamil Militant guerrillas. The mid-1990s marked a period of political flux in India, with frequent changes in government and coalition dynamics. Rajiv Gandhi was succeeded as party leader by P. V. Narasimha Rao , who was elected prime minister in June 1991. His rise to the prime ministership
12844-470: The Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy to carry out an independent feasibility study. In August 2010, their report titled "Kartarpur Marg" was released by Surinder Singh and the Institute. According to the report, the cost of the corridor would be 17 million US dollars, which the Sikh diaspora agreed to raise. The report had said that it would cost Pakistan $ 14.8 million and India $ 2.2 million. In November 2010,
13013-524: The Jassar bridge ( 32°02′57″N 74°59′33″E / 32.04923°N 74.99242°E / 32.04923; 74.99242 ) on the Ravi river, as border controls between the two countries were not strictly enforced until 1965. The bridge was destroyed by Pakistani forces during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 to inhibit potential Indian advances, and border controls became more tightly regulated. In 1969, on
13182-620: The Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, and made it available for viewing from the Indian border. The tensions arising from the Kargil War had effectively destroyed India–Pakistan relations. However, it was reported that General Pervez Musharraf gave a 'green signal' for constructing a corridor, according to the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chairman Lt.-Gen. Javed Nasir. Manmohan Singh , during his first term as
13351-662: The Kartarpur corridor at a ceremony that was held in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex, Kartarpur and around 12,000 pilgrims were present on this ceremony. Imran Khan received the pilgrims and formally inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor by removing a curtain that was lifted by hot air balloons from a huge kirpan (dagger). On the occasion, Prime Minister Khan said "Pakistan believes that the road to prosperity of region [ sic ] and bright future of our coming generation lies in peace, saying that today (9 November 2019) Pakistan
13520-625: The Lok Sabha. The INC again returned to power in the 1980 Indian general election securing a 42.7 per cent vote share of all votes, winning 353 seats. INC's vote share kept increasing till 1980 and then to a record high of 48.1 per cent by 1984/85. Rajiv Gandhi on assuming the post of prime minister in October 1984 recommended early elections . The general elections were to be held in January 1985; instead, they were held in December 1984. The Congress won an overwhelming majority, securing 415 seats out of 533,
13689-479: The NDA. The UPA suffered a landslide defeat, which was the party's worst-ever national electoral performance with its vote share dipping below 20 per cent for the first time. Sonia Gandhi retired as party president in December 2017, having served for a record nineteen years. She was succeeded by her son Rahul Gandhi , who was elected unopposed in the 2017 INC presidential election. Rahul Gandhi resigned from his post after
13858-676: The Narowal district, where the gurdwara is located. The Foreign Office of Pakistan rebutted the Indian claims as baseless propaganda. In 2019, in a criticized act, an unexploded bomb was placed on display inside the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara premises with an accompanying banner alleging that the Indian Air Force had dropped this bomb during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war on the gurdwara in an attempt to destroy it. The Sikh pilgrims voiced their sentiments against any "dirty politics" in
14027-575: The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan respectively at that time, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy. On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ; two days later, then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side. The corridor was completed for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak , on 12 November 2019. Khan said "Pakistan believes that
14196-637: The Punjab state legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution in favour of an international passage between the two sites and forwarded it to the Indian Union government on 1 October 2010. In August 2018, the then Indian Punjab tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's inaugural ceremony where he was told by the Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa of Pakistan's willingness to open
14365-492: The Third Plan (1961–1966). Subhadra Joshi a senior party member, proposed a non-official resolution asking for the nationalisation of private banks stating that nationalisation would help in mobilising resources for development. In July 1969, Indira Gandhi through the ordinance nationalised fourteen major private banks. After being re-elected in 1971 on a campaign that endorsed nationalisation, Indira Gandhi went on to nationalise
14534-572: The United Kingdom in 2011, 280,000 in the United States and smaller numbers in other countries. Standard Punjabi (sometimes referred to as Majhi) is the standard form of Punjabi used commonly in education and news broadcasting , and is based on the Majhi dialect . Such as the variety used on Google Translate , Standard Punjabi is also often used in official online services that employ Punjabi. It
14703-565: The United States found no evidence of a separate falling tone following a medial consonant. It is considered that these tones arose when voiced aspirated consonants ( gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh ) lost their aspiration. In Punjabi, tone is induced by the loss of [h] in tonal consonants. Tonal consonants are any voiced aspirates /ʱ/ and the voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/ . These include the five voiced aspirated plosives bh , dh , ḍh , jh and gh (which are represented by their own letters in Gurmukhi),
14872-508: The annual session of the Congress held at Lucknow under the presidency of Ambica Charan Mazumdar , it was decided that the extremists led by Tilak would be admitted to the Congress. Inspired by the Irish Home Rule movement , which sought greater autonomy from Britain, Tilak and Besant were influenced by the concept of self-government (Home Rule) and began calling for similar rights for India. However, Tilak and Besant were unable to convince
15041-597: The broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone . The word Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi ) has been derived from the word Panj-āb , Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River . The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada , which means 'Land of
15210-527: The coal, steel, copper, refining, cotton textiles and insurance industries. The main reason was to protect employment and the interest of the organised labour. On 12 June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha , the lower house of India's parliament, void on the grounds of electoral malpractice. However, Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to
15379-541: The corridor were laid on the two sides of the border by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu respectively. Pakistan's Frontier Works Organization constructed 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) of dedicated expressway, including an 800-metre (2,600 ft) bridge over the River Ravi . An immigration office was also constructed, and Gurudwara Darbar Sahib premises
15548-445: The country, and growing discontent over a series of corruption allegations involving government officials, including the 2G spectrum case and the Indian coal allocation scam , as well as the ineptness towards national security, particularly the insensitivity in the aftermath of the 2011 Mumbai bombings . The Congress won only 44 seats in the Lok Sabha , compared to the 336 of the BJP and
15717-600: The country. Prominent leaders who joined or supported the Home Rule movement included Motilal Nehru , Bhulabhai Desai , Jawaharlal Nehru , Chittaranjan Das , Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi , Saifuddin Kitchlew , Madan Mohan Malviya , Mohammad Ali Jinnah , Tej Bahadur Sapru , and Lala Lajpat Rai . In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa and joined Congress. His efforts in South Africa were well known not only among
15886-758: The country. In 1876, they founded the New English School in Pune . However, Tilak soon realized that education alone was not sufficient; the people also needed to be aware of the country's condition. To achieve this, he started two weekly publications in 1881: the Maratha in English and Kesari in Marathi. The ideological differences between the extremists and moderates led to a deep divide. During its session held in Surat in December 1907,
16055-697: The devoicing of the main five tonal consonants ( bh , dh , ḍh , jh , gh ). The Gurmukhi script which was developed in the 16th century has separate letters for voiced aspirated sounds, so it is thought that the change in pronunciation of the consonants and development of tones may have taken place since that time. Some other languages in Pakistan have also been found to have tonal distinctions, including Burushaski , Gujari , Hindko , Kalami , Shina , and Torwali , though these (besides Hindko) seem to be independent of Punjabi. Indian National Congress (4030 MLAs and 5 vacant) (390 MLCs and 36 vacant) The Indian National Congress ( INC ), colloquially
16224-459: The economic reform policies begun by Rao's government. He is often called the "Father of Indian economic reforms". Rao was also referred to as Chanakya for his ability to push tough economic and political legislation through the parliament while heading a minority government. By 1996, party found itself in a complex political landscape. It faced internal challenges, including factionalism and leadership struggles, allegations of corruption, and
16393-499: The educated but also among the masses. During 1917 and 1918, Mahatma Gandhi was involved in three struggles– known as Champaran Satyagraha , Ahmedabad Mill Strike and Kheda Satyagraha . After World War I , the party came to be associated with Gandhi, who remained its unofficial spiritual leader and icon. He formed an alliance with the Khilafat Movement in 1920 as part of his opposition to British rule in India, and fought for
16562-462: The eleventh-most widely spoken in India , and also present in the Punjabi diaspora in various countries. Approximate distribution of native Punjabi speakers (inc. Lahndic dialects ) (assuming a rounded total of 157 million) worldwide. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan , being the native language of 88.9 million people, or approximately 37% of the country's population. Beginning with
16731-480: The examples below are based on those provided in Punjabi University, Patiala 's Punjabi-English Dictionary . Level tone is found in about 75% of words and is described by some as absence of tone. There are also some words which are said to have rising tone in the first syllable and falling in the second. (Some writers describe this as a fourth tone.) However, a recent acoustic study of six Punjabi speakers in
16900-495: The face of opposition by the Congress. After Indian independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress became the dominant political party in the country. In 1952, in the first general election held after Independence, the party swept to power in the national parliament and most state legislatures. It held power nationally until 1977 when it was defeated by the Janata coalition. It returned to power in 1980 and ruled until 1989 when it
17069-418: The far-north of Rajasthan and on the northwestern border of Haryana . It includes the dialects of Majhi , Malwai , Doabi , Puadhi and the extinct Lubanki . Sometimes, Dogri and Kangri are grouped into this category. "Western Punjabi" or "Lahnda" ( لہندا , lit. ' western ' ) is the name given to the diverse group of Punjabi varieties spoken in the majority of Pakistani Punjab ,
17238-450: The fees for pilgrims. In response, on 1 November 2019, Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan announced on Twitter that Sikh pilgrims coming from India for a pilgrimage to Kartarpur will not be charged any fee on the day of inauguration and on Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary on 12 November 2019. The Pakistan government as a "special gesture" had also waived off the passport requirement for Kartarpur pilgrims extending up to one year. However,
17407-496: The first prime minister since Indira Gandhi in 1971 to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. However, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 general election , the Congress suffered a heavy defeat, winning only 44 seats of the 543-member Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India ). In the 2019 general election , the party failed to make any substantial gains and won 52 seats, failing to form
17576-606: The five, the Beas River , is a tributary of another, the Sutlej . Punjabi developed from Prakrit languages and later Apabhraṃśa ( Sanskrit : अपभ्रंश , 'deviated' or 'non-grammatical speech') From 600 BC, Sanskrit developed as the standard literary and administrative language and Prakrit languages evolved into many regional languages in different parts of India. All these languages are called Prakrit languages (Sanskrit: प्राकृत , prākṛta ) collectively. Paishachi Prakrit
17745-639: The framework of the British Empire. The moderates preferred to avoid direct conflict with the Britishers, aiming instead to reform their governance to better serve the country's interests. They aimed to collaborate with British authorities and use constitutional means, such as petitions, resolutions, and dialogue, to address the grievances of Indians. Over time, as they recognized the impact of British rule, many moderate leaders shifted their stance and started advocating for Swaraj or self-government for India within
17914-532: The gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan , 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa. However, Pakistani Sikhs are unable to use the border crossing, and cannot access Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side without first obtaining an Indian visa or unless they work there. The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif ,
18083-585: The heart of people by fighting, while Khan won hearts of many Sikhs around the world by giving access to their holy land Kartarpur. Earlier, however, the Indian government's denial of political clearance to Sidhu to visit Pakistan for the Kartarpur inauguration had snowballed into a last-moment controversy. Poetry about Guru Nanak from Allama Iqbal 's Bang-e-Dara was also read by former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh and also by Pakistani speakers at inauguration. In November 2019, media reported that Indian security agencies had spotted alleged JeM terrorist training camp in
18252-502: The international stage. The Moderates were able to analyzed the political and economic impacts of British rule in India. Dadabhai Naoroji, Romesh Chunder Dutt , and Dinshaw Wacha and others introduced the Drain Theory to highlight how Britain exploited India's resources. The Drain Theory, proposed by these leaders, challenged the notion that British rule was beneficial for India, shaping
18421-519: The latter three arise natively. Later, the letters ਜ਼ / ز , ਸ਼ / ش and ਫ਼ / ف began being used in English borrowings, with ਸ਼ / ش also used in Sanskrit borrowings . Punjabi has also had minor influence from and on neighbouring languages such as Sindhi , Haryanvi , Pashto and Hindustani . Note: In more formal contexts, hypercorrect Sanskritized versions of these words (ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ pradhān for ਪਰਧਾਨ pardhān and ਪਰਿਵਾਰ parivār for ਪਰਵਾਰ parvār ) may be used. Modern Punjabi emerged in
18590-495: The leadership of Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, the Jatha traveled through the corridor into Pakistan to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. The Indian Sikh delegation that included former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the then Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh , the then Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol arrived through Kartarpur Corridor to celebrate
18759-409: The masses, but they did not intertwine religion with politics. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, tried to mobilise Hindu Indians by appealing to an explicitly Hindu political identity displayed in the annual public Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav and Shiv Jayanti festivals that he inaugurated in western India. Tilak, along with his friend Gopal Ganesh Agarkar , believed that educating the people was the best way to serve
18928-508: The military actions in Afghanistan , and the treatment of tribal people in northwestern India . Additionally, they called for better conditions for Indian workers who had migrated to countries such as South Africa , Malaya , Mauritius , the West Indies , and British Guyana . Congress was transformed into a mass movement by Surendranath Banerjee during the partition of Bengal in 1905 , and
19097-597: The most rarely pronounced. The retroflex lateral is most commonly analysed as an approximant as opposed to a flap . Some speakers soften the voiceless aspirates /t͡ʃʰ, pʰ, kʰ/ into fricatives /ɕ, f, x/ respectively. In rare cases, the /ɲ/ and /ŋ/ phonemes in Shahmukhi may be represented with letters from Sindhi . The /ɲ/ phoneme, which is more common than /ŋ/, is written as نی or نج depending on its phonetic preservation, e.g. نیاݨا /ɲaːɳaː/ (preserved ñ ) as opposed to کنج /kiɲd͡ʒ/ (assimilated into nj ). /ŋ/
19266-580: The name of the Guru. The corridor does not require a visa to use, but an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) document is required, which can be obtained by registering an application at a dedicated website of the Indian government. Even with a USD$ 20 fee waiver for all for two days I.e. November 9 and 12, initial turnout was low due to the complicated booking process and the fact that many Indian citizens lack passports. Aam Aadmi Party , BJP Indore MP Shankar Lalwani , The former DSGMC president and SGPC demanded that
19435-640: The nationalisation of private banks. In the mid-term 1971 Indian general election , the Gandhi-led Congress ;(R) won a landslide victory on a platform of progressive policies such as the elimination of poverty ( Garibi Hatao ). The policies of the Congress ;(R) under Gandhi before the 1971 elections included proposals to abolish the Privy Purse to former rulers of the Princely states , and
19604-600: The nationalists against the British government. The movement played a role in weakening the control over the South Asian region by the British regime and ultimately paved the way for Indian independence. In 1945, when World War 2 almost came to an end, the Labour Party of the United Kingdom won elections with a promise to provide independence to India. The jailed political prisoners of the Quit India movement were released in
19773-503: The nationalists. In 1889, a British branch of the Indian National Congress was set up in London . Dadabhai Naoroji , a member of the sister Indian National Association , was elected president of the Congress in 1886. He was the first Indian Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons (1892–1895) and spent a large part of his life and resources to campaigning for India’s cause on
19942-551: The next 50 years. The party's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , led the Congress to support socialist policies by creating the Planning Commission , introducing Five-Year Plans , implementing a mixed economy, and establishing a secular state . After Nehru's death and the short tenure of Lal Bahadur Shastri , Indira Gandhi became the leader of the party. In the 17 general elections since independence, it has won an outright majority on seven occasions and has led
20111-499: The number of visits and the number of sites. However, Kartarpur was not among the sites included in the 1974 protocol. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs , India had requested its inclusion but this was not agreed to by Pakistan. Gobind Singh, the caretaker of the gurdwara at Kartarpur, said the gurdwara had "remained shut from 1947 to 2000". The gurdwara had no staff, despite receiving pilgrims, and entrance
20280-399: The occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promised to approach the Pakistani government for a land-swap so that Kartarpur Sahib could become part of India; however, none of this materialised. In September 1974, a protocol was agreed between India and Pakistan for visits to religious shrines. Around 2005, the protocol was updated by increasing
20449-637: The opening of the corridor. On 30 October 2018, a group of Sikh Americans sought the Indian prime minister's help in opening the corridor. In November 2018, the Indian Cabinet approved the plan to set up the corridor and appealed to Pakistan to do the same. The Pakistani foreign minister S. M. Qureshi responded by tweeting that Pakistan had "already conveyed to India" that it would open a corridor. In August 2019, India and Pakistan agreed to allow visa-free travel of Indian citizens to Kartarpur, but differences persisted about Indian consular officers being located at
20618-527: The parliament. His administration took measures to reform the government bureaucracy and liberalise the country's economy. Rajiv Gandhi's attempts to discourage separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir backfired. After his government became embroiled in several financial scandals, his leadership became increasingly ineffectual. Gandhi was regarded as a non-abrasive person who consulted other party members and refrained from hasty decisions. The Bofors scandal damaged his reputation as an honest politician, but he
20787-449: The party for indiscipline. Subsequently, Gandhi launched her own faction of the INC which came to be known as Congress (R). The original party then came to be known as Indian National Congress (O) . Its principal leaders were Kamraj, Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa and S. K. Patil who stood for a more right-wing agenda. The split occurred when a united opposition under the banner of Samyukt Vidhayak Dal , won control over several states in
20956-602: The party into the 2024 Indian general election , where the party made significant gains in Uttar Pradesh and other states, securing 99 seats — enough to elect Rahul Gandhi as leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The election was the best result for the party since 2009. The party was the principal opposition party within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which
21125-562: The party occurred in 1979, leading to the creation of the Congress (I), which was recognized as the Congress by the Election Commission in 1981. Under Rajiv Gandhi 's leadership, the party won a massive victory in the 1984 general elections , nevertheless losing the election held in 1989 to the National Front . The Congress then returned to power under P. V. Narasimha Rao , who moved the party towards an economically liberal agenda ,
21294-403: The party suffered a major split, with a faction led by Indira Gandhi leaving to form the Congress (R) , with the remainder becoming the Congress (O) . The Congress (R) became the dominant faction, winning the 1971 general election by a huge margin. From 1975 to 1977, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India, resulting in widespread oppression and abuses of power. Another split in
21463-566: The party's 1998 Pachmarhi resolution of ekla chalo (go it alone) policy, and formed alliances with other like-minded parties. In the intervening years, the party was successful at various legislative assembly elections; at one point, Congress ruled 15 states. For the 2004 general election , Congress forged alliances with regional parties including the NCP and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam . The party's campaign emphasised social inclusion and
21632-475: The party's first non- Brahmin leader. During the tenure of both Rao and Kesri, the two leaders conducted internal elections to the Congress working committees and their own posts as party presidents. The 1998 general elections saw Congress win 141 seats in the Lok Sabha, its lowest tally until then. To boost its popularity and improve its performance in the forthcoming election, Congress leaders urged Sonia Gandhi , Rajiv Gandhi's widow, to assume leadership of
21801-505: The party, having held office for over twenty years from 1998 to 2017 and again from 2019 to 2022 (as interim). Mallikarjun Kharge is the current party President . The district party is the smallest functional unit of Congress. There is also a Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), present at the state level in every state. Together, the delegates from the districts and PCCs form the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The party
21970-487: The party. She had previously declined offers to become actively involved in party affairs and had stayed away from politics. After her election as party leader, a section of the party that objected to the choice because of her Italian ethnicity broke away and formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar . Sonia Gandhi struggled to revive the party in her early years as its president; she
22139-529: The political left. On 12 July 1969, Congress Parliamentary Board nominated Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as Congress's candidate for the post of President of India by a vote of four to two. K. Kamaraj , Morarji Desai and S. K. Patil voted for Reddy. Indira Gandhi and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed voted for V. V. Giri and Congress President S. Nijalingappa , Home Minister Yashwantrao Chavan and Agriculture Minister Jagjivan Ram abstained from voting. In mid-1969, she
22308-429: The presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, Purna Swaraj (complete independence) was declared as the party's goal, declaring 26 January 1930 as Purna Swaraj Diwas (Independence Day). The same year, Srinivas Iyenger was expelled from the party for demanding full independence, not just home rule as demanded by Gandhi. After the passage of the Government of India Act 1935 , provincial elections were held in India in
22477-465: The president of the All India Congress Committee in 1963 during the last year of Nehru's life. Prior to that, he had been the chief minister of Madras state for nine years. Kamaraj had also been a member of "the syndicate", a group of right wing leaders within Congress. In 1963 the Congress lost popularity following the defeat in the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. To revitalise the party, Kamaraj proposed
22646-408: The prime minister of India, also tabled the issue in a speech in Punjab in 2004. The 'composite dialogue process' between India and Pakistan initiated in 2004 also discussed access to Kartarpur via an Amritsar–Lahore–Kartarpur road link. In 2008, the Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee raised with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi the idea of "visa-free travel" to Kartarpur. There
22815-594: The real Indian National Congress for the 1984 general election . However, the designation I was dropped only in 1996. Gandhi's premiership witnessed increasing turmoil in Punjab , with demands for Sikh autonomy by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant followers. In 1983, Bhindranwale with his armed followers headquartered themselves in the Golden Temple in Amritsar and started accumulating weapons. In June 1984, after several futile negotiations, Gandhi ordered
22984-498: The resultant Swadeshi movement . On the other hand, the faction led by extremist or radical leaders, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak , Bipin Chandra Pal , and Lala Lajpat Rai , colloquially, "Lal, Bal, Pal", was more radical in their approach. They believed in direct action and criticized the moderate approach, advocating for more assertive and aggressive means to achieve self-rule ( Swaraj ). They were less willing to compromise with
23153-642: The rights for Indians using civil disobedience or Satyagraha as the tool for agitation. In 1922, after the deaths of policemen at Chauri Chaura , Gandhi suspended the agitation. With the help of the moderate group led by Gokhale, in 1924 Gandhi became president of Congress. The rise of Gandhi's popularity and his satyagraha art of revolution led to support from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel , Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , Rajendra Prasad , Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan , Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan , Chakravarti Rajgopalachari , Anugrah Narayan Sinha , Jayaprakash Narayan , Jivatram Kripalani , and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad . As
23322-544: The road to prosperity of region [ sic ] and bright future of our coming generation lies in peace", adding that "Pakistan is not only opening the border but also their hearts for the Sikh community". Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the decision by the two countries to go ahead with the corridor to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, saying that the project could help in easing tensions between
23491-464: The rule of law, equality before the law, and advocating for secularism . However, by 1905, two factions had emerged within the party, leading to different approaches and ideologies regarding the methods to achieve self-rule for India. A division arose between the Moderates, led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale , who believed in a peaceful and constitutional approach to achieve reforms and self-governance within
23660-470: The ruling coalition a further three times, heading the central government for more than 54 years. There have been six prime ministers from the Congress party, the first being Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–1964), and the most recent being Manmohan Singh (2004–2014). Since the 1990s, the Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the main rival of the Congress in both national and regional politics. In 1969,
23829-592: The same year. In 1946, the British tried the soldiers of Japanese-sponsored Indian National Army in the INA trials . In response, Congress helped form the INA Defence Committee , which assembled a legal team to defend the case of the soldiers of the Azad Hind government. The team included several famous lawyers, including Bhulabhai Desai , Asaf Ali , and Jawaharlal Nehru. The British Empire eventually backtracked in
23998-541: The site in Pakistan, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it as the "symbol of interfaith harmony" and "a corridor of hope, connecting two key Sikh pilgrimage sites." RailTel Corporation of India launched the free RailWire Wi-Fi service to pilgrims at Dera Baba Nanak railway station and Integrated Check Post. Jalandhar based Republic Motors provided six campus electric carts for travel of pilgrims from Integrated Check Post (ICP) to zero point. On 8 November 2019, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that
24167-479: The site. On 24 October 2019, S.C.L. Das, Joint Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry from India and Pakistan Foreign Office Director General South Asia and SAARC Mohammad Faisal met at Zero Point near Dera Baba Nanak in the border town of Gurdaspur to ink the memorandum of understanding. The signing of this agreement has paved the way for 5,000 Indian pilgrims to visit the holy site without
24336-410: The social, economic or political systems. Banks should be publicly owned so that they catered to not just large industries and big businesses but also agriculturists, small industries and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the private banks had been functioning erratically with hundreds of them failing and causing loss to the depositors who were given no guarantee against such loss." —Gandhi's remarks after
24505-458: The subsequent support of the communist front, Congress won a majority and formed a new government. Despite massive support from within the party, Gandhi declined the post of prime minister, choosing to appoint Manmohan Singh instead. She remained as party president and headed the National Advisory Council (NAC). During its first term in office, the UPA government passed several social reform bills. These included an employment guarantee bill,
24674-539: The terms Eastern and Western Punjabi can simply refer to all the Punjabi varieties spoken in India and Pakistan respectively, whether or not they are linguistically Eastern/Western. While a vowel length distinction between short and long vowels exists, reflected in modern Gurmukhi orthographical conventions, it is secondary to the vowel quality contrast between centralised vowels /ɪ ə ʊ/ and peripheral vowels /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː/ in terms of phonetic significance. The peripheral vowels have nasal analogues . There
24843-489: The trust vote that followed. In the Lok Sabha elections held soon after , Congress won 207 seats, the highest tally of any party since 1991. The UPA won 262, enabling it to form a government for the second time. The social welfare policies of the first UPA government, and the perceived divisiveness of the BJP, are broadly credited with the victory. By the 2014 election , the party had lost much of its popular support, mainly due to several years of poor economic conditions in
25012-419: The two countries . Previously, Sikh pilgrims from India had to travel to Lahore to get to Kartarpur, a 125 kilometres (78 miles) journey, even though people on the Indian side of the border could see Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from the Indian side, where an elevated observation platform was constructed. On 17 November 2021, the Kartarpur Corridor re-opened after over a year and a half of closure due to
25181-416: The two countries to the fall of the Berlin Wall , saying that the project may help in easing tensions between the two countries. During the inauguration speech, he also said, "I would like to thank the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan Niazi for respecting the sentiment of India." Modi flagged off the pilgrimage and handed over the flag of the Jatha to Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh. Under
25350-413: The welfare of the common masses—an ideology that Gandhi herself endorsed for Congress during her presidency—with slogans such as Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath ("Congress hand in hand with the common man"), contrasting with the NDA's " India Shining " campaign. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won 222 seats in the new parliament, defeating the NDA by a substantial margin. With
25519-400: The winter of 1936–37 in eleven provinces: Madras , Central Provinces , Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces , Bombay Presidency , Assam, NWFP, Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh. The final results of the elections were declared in February 1937. The Indian National Congress gained power in eight of them – the three exceptions being Bengal, Punjab , and Sindh. The All-India Muslim League failed to form
25688-514: Was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like almārī ), Greek (words like dām ), Japanese (words like rikśā ), Chinese (words like cāh , līcī , lukāṭh ) and English (words like jajj , apīl , māsṭar ), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic. In fact, the sounds / z / (ਜ਼ / ز ژ ذ ض ظ ), / ɣ / (ਗ਼ / غ ), / q / (ਕ਼ / ق ), / ʃ / (ਸ਼ / ش ), / x / (ਖ਼ / خ ) and / f / (ਫ਼ / ف ) are all borrowed from Persian, but in some instances
25857-545: Was an assembly for politically minded individuals interested in various reforms, but it did not express desires for independence from the British Empire. Hume organized the first meeting in Bombay with the approval of the Viceroy Lord Dufferin . Umesh Chandra Banerjee was the first president of Congress; the first session was attended by 72 delegates, representing each province of India. Notable representatives included Scottish ICS officer William Wedderburn , Dadabhai Naoroji , Badruddin Tyabji and Pherozeshah Mehta of
26026-414: Was an umbrella organisation, sheltering radical socialists, traditionalists, and Hindu and Muslim conservatives . Mahatma Gandhi expelled all the socialist groupings, including the Congress Socialist Party , the Krishak Praja Party , and the Swaraj Party , along with Subhas Chandra Bose , in 1939. After the failure of the Cripps Mission launched by the British government to gain Indian support for
26195-477: Was apparently no official response, but privately, Pakistan began to express its openness to the Sikh community. However, even up to 2012, the Indian government had no response. The hostility between the countries was apparently to blame. On 20 June 2008, at a press conference in Dera Baba Nanak arranged by Akali leader Kuldeep Singh Wadala, John W. McDonald , a former American ambassador and founder of Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, called for "a peace corridor,
26364-444: Was dedicated to the corridor in the Hindi TV series Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala . Sunny Deol stated that the corridor would help maintain peace between India and Pakistan. Many Sikh pilgrims praised Pakistani PM Imran Khan and former Indian Punjab minister Sidhu, whom they gave credit for the corridor's opening. The State Department of the United States also welcomed the opening of the corridor. In February 2020, following his visit to
26533-441: Was due to be interviewed by British actor Peter Ustinov , who was filming a documentary for Irish television. Her assassination prompted the 1984 anti-Sikh riots , during which 3,000–17,000 people were killed. In 1984, Indira Gandhi's son Rajiv Gandhi became nominal head of Congress, and went on to become prime minister upon her assassination. In December, he led Congress to a landslide victory, where it secured 401 seats in
26702-461: Was during partition in 1947 while he was visiting the North-West Frontier Province in a car. The second was by a knife-wielding rickshaw-puller in Maharashtra in 1955. A third attempt happened in Bombay in 1956. The fourth was a failed bombing attempt on railway tracks in Maharashtra in 1961. Despite threats to his life, Nehru despised having excess security personnel around him and did not like his movements to disrupt traffic. K. Kamaraj became
26871-507: Was expanded to accommodate the incoming pilgrims. The first phase of the construction of Kartarpur Corridor project was completed in early November 2019. Land Ports Authority of India , National Highways Authority of India and Ceigall India Ltd constructed the Indian side of the corridor. A State-of-the-Art Integrated check post (ICP), 3.5 km four-lane highway and a 100-metre bridge at Dera Baba Nanak were constructed. On 9 November 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated
27040-459: Was formed in 2023. In the first parliamentary elections held in 1952, the INC won 364 seats, which was 76 per cent of the 479 contested seats. The vote share of the INC was 45 per cent of all votes cast. Till the 1971 general elections , the party's voting percentage remain intact at 40 per cent. However, the 1977 general elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the INC. Many notable INC party leader lost their seats, winning only 154 seats in
27209-410: Was instrumental in achieving this result. The differences among the top leadership of the Congress regarding the future of the party during resulted in the formation of several breakaway parties such as Orissa Jana Congress , Bangla Congress , Utkal Congress , and, Bharatiya Kranti Dal . In 1967, following a poor performance in the 1967 Indian general election , Indira Gandhi started moving toward
27378-429: Was involved in a dispute with senior party leaders on several issues. Notably – Her support for the independent candidate, V. V. Giri , rather than the official Congress party candidate, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy , for the vacant post of the president of India and Gandhi's abrupt nationalisation of the 14 biggest banks in India. In November 1969, the Congress party president, S. Nijalingappa , expelled Indira Gandhi from
27547-426: Was once again defeated. The party formed the government in 1991 at the head of a coalition, as well as in 2004 and 2009 when it led the United Progressive Alliance. During this period the Congress remained centre-left in its social policies while steadily shifting from a socialist to a neoliberal economic outlook. The Party's rivals at state level have been national parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
27716-402: Was one of these Prakrit languages, which was spoken in north and north-western India and Punjabi developed from this Prakrit. Later in northern India Paishachi Prakrit gave rise to Paishachi Apabhraṃśa , a descendant of Prakrit. Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a degenerated form of Prakrit, in the 7th century AD and became stable by the 10th century. The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to
27885-539: Was politically significant because he was the first person from South India to hold the office, marking a shift from the traditionally northern-dominated leadership in Indian politics. After the election, he formed a minority government. Rao himself did not contest elections in 1991, but after he was sworn in as prime minister, he won in a by-election from Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. His administration oversaw major economic change and experienced several domestic incidents that affected India's national security. Rao, who held
28054-483: Was posthumously cleared of bribery allegations in 2004. On 21 May 1991, Gandhi was killed by a bomb concealed in a basket of flowers carried by a woman associated with the Tamil Tigers . He was campaigning in Tamil Nadu for upcoming parliamentary elections . In 1998, an Indian court convicted 26 people in the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi. The conspirators, who consisted of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka and their Indian allies, had sought revenge against Gandhi because
28223-400: Was restricted. The Pakistani government started repairing the shrine in September 2000 ahead of the anniversary of Guru Nanak's death and formally reopened it in September 2004. The Kartarpur Corridor mission was initially started by Bhabishan Singh Goraya, who pursued the cause for 24 years. According to Akali leader Kuldeep Singh Wadala, the gurdwara had been abandoned till 2003. It served as
28392-480: Was retained as Finance Minister of India , as was Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan . Shastri appointed Swaran Singh to succeed him as External Affairs Minister . Shastri appointed Indira Gandhi , Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter and former party president, Minister of Information and Broadcasting . Gulzarilal Nanda continued as the Minister of Home Affairs . As Prime Minister , Shastri continued Nehru's policy of non-alignment , but built closer relations with
28561-410: Was under continuous scrutiny for her foreign birth and lack of political acumen. In the snap elections called by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 1999 , Congress' tally further plummeted to just 114 seats. Although the leadership structure was unaltered as the party campaigned strongly in the assembly elections that followed, Gandhi began to make such strategic changes as abandoning
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