As independent India achieves the landmark 75 years as a free nation, it is an appropriate time to take a look at the journey so far and ahead. The Government of India announced two-year-long nationwide celebrations for the Amrut Mahotsav to commemorate the milestone.
The journey of independent India started on 15 August 1947. After the first war of independence in 1857, the British had taken over direct administration in 1858. While the struggle for independence was long and hard, the process of India’s birth was no less painful. The partition of India and the creation of Pakistan led to the transfer of between 10-20 million people along religious lines between India and Pakistan and the death of around 1-2 million people. The turmoil caused by this event can only be described as cataclysmic. Fires of religious tensions burnt in several parts of the country, with extreme disturbance and mayhem in areas along the borders of West and East Pakistan. (East Pakistan is now the independent nation of Bangladesh). A newly independent India did not have the wherewithal to deal with these multiple crises. Providing humanitarian assistance to the displaced population and safety and relief to the victims of violence, stretched the resources of the newly independent poor nation.
After dousing these fires, independent India’s first success was to adopt the Constitution in 1950, making India a democratic country, offering democratic freedoms unique among the world's newly independent states. The Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, drafted by a committee headed by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, on 26 November 1949; making India a sovereign democratic republic on 26 January 1950. Democracy has sustained in India through the years. Unlike many other developing countries, including in its neighbourhood, India never succumbed to military rule. The people of today’s India owe a debt of gratitude to Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and the founders of modern India.
At the time of independence, there were 17 provinces and 565 princely states in British India. The princes of the princely states had the right to join either dominion or stay independent. India's founding fathers were faced with the prospect of a fragmented nation, requiring the integration of over 500 princely states. Credit for the political integration of India is attributed to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Deputy Prime Minister of India at the time). Along with V. P. Menon, Sardar Patel convinced the rulers of contiguous princely states to accede to India. The India we know today is the precious outcome of Sardar Patel’s wisdom and sagacity.
Modern India has many achievements to its credit. India’s literacy level in 1947 was alarmingly low at around 12 per cent. Over the last seven and a half decades, even as India's population has risen to over 1.35 billion, the literacy level is close to 78 per cent, a remarkable achievement by any yardstick. Under the vision of India’s first prime minister, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, modern industries became “the temples of modern India”, while institutes of higher learning laid the foundation for much of the success that followed.
At the time of independence, India produced around 50 million tonnes of food grains. This was not even enough to feed the country’s population of 340 million. As India’s population went up, so did the agricultural output. Today's India has been a net exporter of food grains, despite feeding its own population of over 1.35 billion people. A Green revolution and Operation Flood enabled India to become self-sufficient in feeding its own population, ending two decades of food imports. The Green revolution greatly improved India’s agricultural productivity through government-sponsored modern agricultural implements, new varieties of generic seeds, and increased financial assistance to farmers that increased the yield of food crops such as wheat, rice and corn, as well as commercial crops like cotton, tea, tobacco and coffee. Under Operation Flood, the government encouraged the production of milk, which increased and improved the rearing of livestock across India. Amul Dairy Plant at Anand, Gujarat, became a highly successful co-operative started during Operation Flood in the 1970s.
In terms of GDP, the turnaround has been nothing short of impressive. From a mere 2.7 lakh crore in 1947, accounting for a measly 3 per cent of the world's total GDP, India’s GDP at over $3 trillion in 2022 makes it one of the largest economies in the world. India’s per capita income has similarly grown over the 75 years. The number of billionaires in India has almost tripled over the last ten years.
While India has made a remarkable journey in fields ranging from economy to infrastructure or even space and science and technology, the biggest challenge is equitable distribution of this progress to reach those at the bottom of the ladder. Over the last 10 years or so, the government's efforts have been aimed at bridging the gap. The JAM trinity (short for Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) initiative linking Jan Dhan accounts, mobile numbers and Aadhaar cards of Indians is aimed at plugging the leakages of government subsidies. The Ayushmann Bharat hopes to reach health services to the doorsteps of the poor, while other schemes targeting education, girls’ welfare and the development of entrepreneurship will help achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth and benefits.
India's journey since 1947 has seen its share of ups and downs. Once branded a "third world country", that many did not expect to even survive, India has proved the doomsayers wrong on every front. Today, despite its many remaining challenges, India looks to the future filled with hope.
