ABSTRACT
The principal nationalist movement that had opposed British rule was the Indian National Congress. India became independent as a dominion, with the British monarch as head of state, represented by an appointed Governor-General. A series of audacious terrorist attacks perpetrated by Kashmiri separatists severely tested the resolve of the Government in late 2001 and early 2002, resulting in an unexpected consolidation of support for the ruling coalition. Regional issues continue to play an important role in Indian political affairs. In 1986 the Gurkhas (of Nepalese stock) in West Bengal launched a campaign for a separate autonmous homeland in the Darjiling (Darjeeling) region and the recognition of Nepali as an official language. From 1979 a popular movement emerged in the north-eastern state of Assam, which aimed to combat and reverse the flow of allegedly illegal immigrants into the state, mostly from neighbouring Bangladesh. The Naxalites are a myriad group of Maoist insurgents who emerged in the late 1960s in West Bengal.
