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Kerala Kaumudi Online
Friday, 29 March 2024 3.26 PM IST

The Blissful Years of Indian Independence; Hopeful too!

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75 years ago, one midnight, the new nation of India was born amid the festering wounds of partition and poverty. Today, India is the largest democratic country in the world. More than one-sixth of the world's population lives in this holy land. The country has developed in terms of infrastructure and science and technology in 75 years and shares an equal stature with some other developed countries. There were various predictions about the future when the ancient subcontinent of India was finally freed from the British occupation, thanks to the sacrifice of many lives, suffering struggles and purposeful endeavours. Even the British who had left only had pessimistic thoughts about India. However, the Indian people overcame many setbacks, pitfalls, challenges, and miseries like wars and epidemic disasters and built a great nation called India. Post-modern India is on a quest to reclaim ancient India, which was once rich in educational, cultural, philosophical, artistic traditions and natural resources.

The Mughals, the British and other foreign powers who plundered the country for centuries and tried to subvert India's Upanishadic culture with foreign religious practices and doctrines, India did not surrender and preserved her identity. After a quarter of a century, when the country celebrates its centenary of independence, India shows signs of becoming the world's superpower, led by the nation’s spiritual.

Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, organized by the ruling government of the country, is now relevant more as a re-education about the nation's heritage, antiquity, future goals and heights to be achieved than a festival. This opportunity should be used to make future generations aware of the steps we have taken so far and the steps we have to take.

Caste bigotry and superstitions once held India back internally. Although reports suggest that its shadows still linger, India's economic education and legal systems of today provide the infrastructure for any citizen to grow and develop. In the economic field, India's gross domestic product rose to 6.1 per cent in the 1990s, when the Five Year Plans launched under the supervision of the Planning Commission in 1956 determined India's destiny. As the license raj, which had crippled the industrial sector, was largely weakened in the 1990s, more private enterprises were able to make their own contributions to the financial sector. It is true that the Make in India initiative introduced by Narendra Modi government has given impetus to industrial diversification and growth. At the time of independence, India's agricultural productivity was only 50 million tonnes, but today India is the second largest producer in the world. Similarly, the country has achieved tremendous growth in service sectors such as health care, IT, tourism and education. The service sector's contribution to the gross domestic product has increased from 30 per cent in 1950-51 to more than 55 per cent.

Today, India is one of the largest IT hubs in the world. Start Up India Schemes launched with the aim of encouraging new entrepreneurs are also contributing significantly to domestic production. India is the largest telecommunications market in the world after China. In 1999, when the Vajpayee government adopted a telecom policy that allowed private participation in the telecom sector, telecom services, including internet facilities, became available even in villages at low rates. Now India is entering the 5G era.

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Nowadays, it is recognized that knowledge is the basic capital required for increasing productivity and alleviating poverty. According to the report of the World Bank, in the past India was among the bottom countries in the world's knowledge-based economy. In a discussion on the National Education Policy 2020, the prime minister pointed out the urgent need to transform India into a knowledge-based economy. It is hopeful that the country is adopting and adapting to progressive measures in this direction within a short period of time. India's progress in the field of science and technology is also considered surprising by foreign countries. In the first five-year plan of 1951, it can be seen that special importance was given to scientific and industrial research fields. India successfully completed Chandrayaan in 2008 and Mangalyaan in 2013.

India has proved its excellence in biotechnology and is now called the pharmacy of the world, shipping 1500 crore doses of vaccine to 150 countries every year. India has also left a unique mark in the fields of film, art and sports.

But we can't help but discuss some of the major issues that the country is facing today, while it is leaping towards excellence day by day. One is the climate crisis and the other is the growing population. Urbanization and population growth are leading to the exploitation of natural resources in the country. India ranks last in the 2022 World Environmental Performance Index, which includes 150 countries. Deforestation accounts for 12 per cent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. The big responsibility facing the country for environmental protection is to create 2.5-3 billion tons of carbon sink by 2030 by planting a lot of trees and afforestation etc.

According to the United Nations' 2022 World Population Report, India will surpass China in terms of population in 2023. India has a population density of 477 people per square kilometre. This is more than eight times the global rate. Scientists have warned that if family planning methods are not strengthened and birth control is not made legal, the air and food available in the country will not be enough for such a large number of people in the near future. Such deficiencies faced by the country can be resolved by a vigorous administration through strong law-making. It did not take long for the country to become a unified power with the implementation of birth control and uniform civil laws. With a cultural heritage and tradition that no other country in the world can claim, there is no doubt that India will continue to be a wonder for the world in the future.

(Writer is Chairman of World Hindu Parliament and former President of Fokana)

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TAGS: MADHAVAN NAIR, INDIA, DEVELOPMENT, AZADI, AMRUT, MAHOTSAV, 75, YEARS
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