The India story: Between past struggles and future dreams

Seventy-nine years after the midnight of freedom, India’s story remains one of resilience, reinvention, and relentless aspiration. From a nation once scarred by colonial exploitation and Partition to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, India has travelled a path of hardship and triumph, carrying its billion-plus citizens into an uncertain yet promising future.

At independence, India was poor, agrarian, and inward-looking, its destiny stifled by shortages and controls. The reforms of 1991 cracked open the doors to liberalisation and unleashed a tide of enterprise that redefined the nation’s possibilities. From IT corridors that connected India to the world, to new industries powered by technology, renewable energy, and infrastructure, the country shifted from survival to ambition. India’s $4.2 trillion economy today speaks of not just growth, but of dreams once unimaginable.

Science and technology gave those dreams wings. The Green Revolution secured food for a hungry population, while the digital revolution connected villages and megacities alike. India reached for the stars and touched them. When Chandrayaan-3 became the first mission to land near the Moon’s south pole, the world took notice. Now, as Gaganyaan prepares to carry Indians into space on an indigenous craft, the message is clear: India no longer follows, it leads. In AI, semiconductors, and biotechnology too, the seeds of leadership have been sown.

Education has been both the nation’s ladder and its struggle. From barely 18 percent literacy at independence to more than three-quarters today, India has made giant leaps. Yet the challenge of aligning education with the demands of a 21st-century economy persists.

On the world stage, India has learned to speak with confidence and clarity. Once a hesitant voice, today it is a nation courted by the great powers, sought after by its neighbours, and respected across continents. India’s cultural heartbeat has only grown stronger where tradition and modernity entwine to form a cultural soft power that tells the world who India is proud, diverse, and unafraid to be itself.

And yet, the journey is incomplete. Social reform remains both a triumph and a test. Women command respect in the armed forces, politics, and boardrooms, and marginalised communities have gained rights and representation once denied to them. Poverty has declined, digital inclusion has surged, and voices once silenced are beginning to find their place. But inequality, caste prejudice, and gender-based violence remind us that the tryst with destiny remains unfinished.

It is a nation of contradictions: of immense wealth and stubborn poverty, of dazzling innovation and pressing social fault lines, of unshakeable faith and restless questioning. But it is also a nation of possibilities.

Experts weigh in

Economics

India's economy has undergone a transformation since independence in 1947, evolving from a largely agrarian, closed economy, hobbled by Nehruvian socialist ideas to a relatively open, partially private enterprise economy. 

The first key turning point came in 1991 with partial economic liberalization under PM Narasimha Rao. It was in response to a balance-of-payments crisis (foreign reserves barely covered two weeks of imports). It forced India to liberalize its economy.

The 1991 reforms partially dismantled the restrictive License Raj, reduced trade barriers, and opened India to foreign investment. This marked a departure from decades of insular, state-controlled policies that facilitated partial global integration.

The second turning point came with the Y2K crisis and global demand for IT services. IT services exports rose  from $128 million in 1991 to $40 billion by 2008, boosting foreign exchange reserves and urban prosperity. The  services sector’s share of GDP grew from ~40% in 1991 to ~55% by 2010

Meanwhile, India's economy today presents a mixed picture. India stands as the world's fourth-largest economy with a nominal GDP of $4.2 trillion. On growth, India remains one of the world's fastest-growing major economies at around 6-7% annually, though this is below the 8%+ rates of the mid-2000s. The economy has shown resilience through global shocks, including COVID-19.

The next decade could well determine whether India achieves its aspiration of becoming a developed economy by 2047. Success will depend on sustaining reforms, investing in human capital. The key reform in my opinion is for the government to liberalize the education sector so that the private sector can provide the education that people need to thrive in the modern dynamic AI-dominated world. Otherwise the so-called “demographic dividend” that people keep hoping for will not happen. 

Dr Atanu Dey, Economist

Former Reuters Fellow, Stanford University

Foreign policy and soft power

On foreign policy

In a world ridden with uncertainties, India is navigating its path quite deftly. Its foreign policies are intricately bound up with its domestic interests, while also offering some out-of-the-box thought and action leadership on the global stage. Its attempt to be Vishwabandhu has served it well, enabling it to simultaneously maintain good relations with both the EU (and member countries) and Russia, for instance. This ability is especially important at a time when old alliances (such as the transatlantic partnership) are under stress; as the world engages in the complex exercise of re-aligning and diversifying global supply chains, India may be well placed to harness new opportunities that emerge. 

As for the Global South, India’s commitment to advancing the cause of fellow developing countries across different international organisations goes back decades (think of G77, NAM, and coalitions that India led in the GATT). So this is not new. But what is interesting is how despite its growing power, India continues to collaborate closely with friends and partners from the Global South. This was reflected in its G20 Presidency, when it successfully prioritised the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the group. It is also reflected in its continued commitment to the BRICS and the expansion of the group. And we see this commitment institutionalised via the Voice of the Global South Summit. This cooperation will continue to be important over several issues ranging from climate financing, green tech, and digital tech, to the reform of old international organisations as well as the creation of new ones.

On leveraging soft power

While India has relied on various instruments of soft power – be it Bollywood or Yoga in the past – we may be seeing a game-changer at work now. This is partly a function of India’s economic rise and expanding military and technological capabilities: soft power is more effective when accompanied by hard power. But just as important is the fact that India has developed greater confidence to take ownership of its traditions – rooted in the ancient past, but thriving in the present day too – and use them for the national and global good.

For example, even as India aims for becoming Viksit Bharat, it is advancing a new model of development that is not just “human-centric” but planet-centric. India’s G20 Presidency epitomised this, with its theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. Many mistakenly believe that this phrase refers only to the family of peoples across the globe. In fact, the Sanskrit verse from the Mahopnishad, from which this term comes (and indeed similar, powerful ideas in India’s other ancient texts too, such as the Mahabharat), is referring to all the beings – human and more-than-human – with whom we share this planet. India thus brings an unusual, non-anthropocentric perspective to the negotiating table, and it is exactly what the planet needs. The idea of LiFE – Lifestyle for the Environment – that was advanced at the G20 Summit by India is one illustration of how this concept can be put to practice. India has planted the seeds of these non-anthropocentric perspectives in global governance; these can and should be developed further. 

Amrita Narlikar

Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

Honorary Fellow, Darwin College, University of Cambridge

Geopolitics

India’s rise has been as a benign geopolitical power. It has not taken place through territorial expansion or aggressive external influence, unlike other current or former great powers. Although India was one of the leaders of the non-aligned movement since the 1960s, the western world only saw India as a significant player since its domestic economic reforms in the early 1990s. This led to an acceleration of the growth of its economy, accentuated by strong political leadership under prime minister Modi. This will enable India to become the third largest economy in the world within the next two-three years, from its fifth place currently. 

India is losing its traditional influence in South Asia with China’s increased presence and impact in the region. India has a ‘neighbourhood first’ policy, but none of its neighbours have such a policy. India requires innovative policy decision-making to overcome this. This includes engagement with all its neighbours, deepening ties with all their political parties (including those it may be ideologically opposed to) and providing consistent development assistance to its current recipients, with the caveat that its neighbours should not harm or undermine India’s security interests in the region. India also needs to bolster its armed forces technological capabilities, including in exceptional cases, with the acquisition of foreign technology, alongside its current policy of becoming a ‘preferred security partner’ for its neighbourhood and littorals/islands of the Indian Ocean.

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury

Senior Fellow for South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy

Higher education policies

Education in post-colonial India has grown into a mammoth establishment but not evolved into a system that reflects progress towards equity and quality. Increasing inequality even at the elementary school level is glaring. Notwithstanding progressive policy declarations, actions of the Central and State Governments have only added to this increasing inequality. In terms of quality, Indian education presents a flat picture; the bright spots we see are more like exceptions rather than peaks in a raising curve. Reforms at both school and higher education levels have been short term and sporadic while the system calls for long-term structural reforms. Loss of trust in public education is the biggest challenge facing the system.

India inherited several higher education institutions from the colonial past where the standards of teaching and research pursued were comparable to their counterparts in the developed world. In the early decades, Government added more institutions to that category. India has indeed made significant strides in scientific and technological development – particularly in space exploration, nuclear energy and information technology. But, over the years, Government’s apathy towards public universities both in terms of facilities for research and promotion of research and innovations through grants has destroyed that intellectual capital. This approach cannot make Indian education globally competitive. Allowing campuses of foreign universities may temporarily impact the scene but it is unlikely that shining with borrowed competitiveness will last long. 

A critical issue concerning public universities and colleges is excessive control and standardization. They are squeezed between the dictates of from the UGC in the name of quality maintenance and by the State authorities who practically direct all major decisions. At the same time, private institutions which are very large in number function under a state of total indifference – no funding and no oversight. 

India’s top priorities for education over the next two decades should be:

(a) The State has to take full responsibility for providing quality elementary education as a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. Poor learning is only symptomatic of a deeper malaise afflicting the system. Invest in improving school functioning holistically encompassing infrastructure, teachers, governance, and accountability.

(b) Teacher quality and professionalism determine the limits of educational quality. India has to make substantial investment in a consistent manner for building a professional community of teachers. The increasing tendency to appoint contract or guest teachers to fill vacancies at both school and college levels has to stop.

(c) Science and technology education and research have suffered badly in recent decades. Establishing a few specialized institutions will not suffice. Teaching basic science in every school and college and strengthening research in the university system need priority attention with substantial investment of public resources. It is futile to expect that private investment and foreign university campuses in India will perform this role.

Professor R.Govinda

Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development

former Vice Chancellor, National University of Educational Planning

Equity in education

When we celebrated the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act in 2009, it was with the hope that within five years, every child between the ages of 6 and 14 would be in school, and the obligations of the State, as mandated by law, would be fulfilled. Likewise, when the Child Labour Amendment Act of 2016 abolished all forms of child labour—bringing it in line with the RTE Act—we marked that moment as historic. These were not just policies, they were the outcome of decades of struggle and hard-won victories for children.

But the reality we see today tells a different story. Despite near-universal enrolment, meaningful education continues to be denied to Dalit, Adivasi, poor, and first-generation learners. On average, a child in India receives only 6.5 years of schooling and for marginalised communities, it is often far less. And yet, families still carry immense hope. Parents continue to believe that education is the path to dignity for their children, even as the State abdicates its role as guarantor of that right.

In this vacuum, the market has stepped in. More and more parents are turning to private schools, often at unaffordable costs. If this continues, government schools risk being reduced to places only for those who have no alternative. This path will deepen segregation, exclusion, and inequality. Privatisation does not bring hope, it brings exclusion.

The Constitution, under Article 21A, binds the State to ensure education for every child. That means schools rooted in dignity, equality, and genuine care. It means support systems—tuitions, hostels, scholarships, free education—to reintegrate every out-of-school child. And it means wholehearted public investment, from pre-school to university, treating education as one continuous journey.

Anything less condemns entire generations to exclusion, exploitation, and lost futures.

Shantha Sinha

Child rights activist and Founder-secretary, M V Foundation