During the 1960 s, African American voting rights received increased protection. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 provided for the appointment of referees to help African Americans register to vote. The 24th Amendment, adopted in 1964, barred poll taxes in federal elections.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first and longest-serving Prime Minister of India, from 1947 until 1964.
In 1963, Sucheta Kriplani was elected to be the first female Chief Minister of an Indian state as well as the first woman Chief Minister of Utter Pradesh. Kriplani emerged as the head of state from amongst the tug of war between Congress personnel C.B Gupta and Sampurnanand.