The Age Of Stars

USD, gold, all pegs · 15 August 1971

Nixon shock: USD–gold convertibility suspended

End of Bretton Woods convertibility

The rupee was briefly pegged to the USD at 7.50 while sterling floated, before returning to a sterling peg in 1971-12.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: FRUS; IMF history 1972-78

USD, INR · 18 December 1971

Smithsonian Agreement

USD devalued against gold (USD 35 → 38/oz). Rupee re-linked to sterling at a central rate of INR 18.9677/GBP (≈INR 7.28/USD).

The central rate is from memory of RBI history and is not re-verified here.

EstimatedOfficial record. Source: RBI History vol. 3 (not re-checked)

former rulers

Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971

Abolished the privy purses and derecognised the rulers, after the 1970 attempt failed by one vote in the Rajya Sabha (149 for, 75 against) and the Supreme Court had ruled for the rulers on the 1970 Presidential order

VerifiedOfficial record. Source: Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act 1971 (indiacode.nic.in)

General insurance nationalisation

Management was taken over by ordinance in 1971-05

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act 1972 took effect 1973-01-01: 107 Indian and foreign insurers, including British companies and Lloyd's-linked agencies, were merged into GIC and four subsidiaries. City of London relevance: British insurers lost direct Indian business. Reinsurance still flowed to London, but the size of that flow was not found.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: GIBNA 1972 (Act 57 of 1972); GIC history

Coal mine nationalisation

Coking coal mines were nationalised by the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act 1972 after a 1971…

Coking coal mines were nationalised by the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act 1972 after a 1971 management takeover. Non-coking coal followed in 1973 (Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act 1973).

ReportedOfficial record. Source: Acts of 1972 and 1973 (India Code)

South Asia

Bangladesh Liberation War; India–Pakistan war 1971-12-03~1971-12-16

~10 mn refugees in India (1971), with the relief burden largely self-financed, special "refugee relief" levies and surcharges, and US aid suspension. Indo-Soviet Treaty signed 1971-08-09. USS Enterprise (TF-74) sent to the Bay of Bengal in Dec 1971. Refugee-cost estimates vary: ?

ReportedOfficial record. Source: UNHCR; Govt of India White Papers 1971; Union Budget 1971-72/1972-73

Eastern India / East Pakistan

East Pakistan refugee crisis (1971-03 onward)

≈9.6 mn refugees by end-October 1971, nearly 10 mn in total. The GoI provided INR 260 crore for relief to end-December 1971. The source puts this at ≈USD 360 mn, which implies ≈INR 7.2/USD against the official 7.50. About USD 139 mn was pledged through UNHCR by end-October. The cost was funded partly by refugee-relief surcharges on postage, bus and cinema tickets.

ReportedHeterodox institution. Source: Bangladesh Genocide Archive (quoting GoI figures); Congressional Record 1971; Business Today 2025-12-20

South Asia

Indo-Pakistan (Bangladesh) war, 1971-12-03 to 1971-12-16

US aid suspended (USD 87.6 mn, see EXTERNAL_OBLIGATION). USS Enterprise task force sent to the Bay of Bengal. Indo-Soviet Treaty signed 1971-08-09. Defence and refugee costs added to the 1972-73 fiscal strain.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: FRUS 1969-76 vol. XI; GAO B-177988

Sri Lanka

JVP insurrection in Ceylon (1971-04)

India sent naval and air support to the Ceylon government; marginal economic effect.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: Sri Lankan and Indian official histories

banking (SBI Parliament Street, New Delhi)

Nagarwala case

On 1971-05-24, R.S. Nagarwala, a retired Army captain, phoned head cashier Ved Prakash Malhotra, imitated Indira Gandhi and P.N. Haksar, and had the cash handed over "for Bangladesh". He was arrested within a day, confessed on 1971-05-26, and was convicted in a ten-minute trial and sentenced to four years. He died in custody in 1972 (myocardial infarction). The 820-page 1978 report said his confession should have been rejected, the PM's office had obstructed the police, and the bank held unaccounted assets. It found no proof that Gandhi kept money at SBI and no foul play in his death.

ReportedPress. Source: Wikipedia "Nagarwala case"; ThePrint; Deccan Chronicle; Delhi High Court R.S. Nagarwala v. State (1971-11-24, indiankanoon)

all

Bay of Bengal / Chittagong / Karachi / Bombay

UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: [M5] not found