ABSTRACT
A major challenge facing Indian elites since independence has been to bring India's rural poor into loyal participation while at the same time holding their expectations within manageable boundaries. As independence dawned in India only a small number of committed communists pushed for a class-based revolution. The Indian state is strong in that it enjoys both widespread legitimacy and considerable resources of force. The Indian government's legitimacy stems from several sources. With the brief exception of 1977-1979, the few years of Janata rule, Congress, the party of the independence movement, has ruled India. India's government, in wars against Pakistan, and in diplomatic relations, has proved itself a strong defender of the nation's integrity. India emerged from the war "united as never before": "By and large the official explanations for the debacle were accepted, the blame put on the Chinese rather than on the Indian Government or on the military leadership.".
