Just
after partition leading to formation of two countries India and Pakistan from
out of a single country, India was beseiged with a number of grave problems
religious divide, suffering of both communities through riot, killings and
displacement of people from their ancestral homes in division of Bengal and
Punjab areas in to two countries, a war between the two countries over Kashmir.
Economically however, India , though poor was better off
relative to some other countries like China. India had a reasonably good foreign
exchange reserves. a better industrial base, a vibrant domestic private sector
entrepreneurs.
Indians
in the rural areas were very poor with virtually no education and awareness
(political, international, modern hygine, modern living, birth control) and yet
were very industrious and honest without greed and jealousy
The
elite class was mostly educated the British way and influenced by the British
elite and socialists who were anti-American and therefore Indians became
anti-American.
Life
expectancy was only about 37 years
Despite
the poverty, most people were contended and lived peaceful lives, mostly in
joint/ undivided families.
While
during the freedom movement before
Independence
in 1947, all Indians had cultivated very little regional/ provincial or
linguistic hatred, after 1947 the regional/ linguistic and provincial feelings became stronger and stronger among the elite trying to capture power in central
leadership
Congress
was the only political party of significance. The general hatred towards
businessmen and rich people gathered momentum after 1947.
1. 60
years is a short span in the life of a nation, and barely marks the first baby
steps of a toddler. Hence, any assessment of India has to be generous and
optimistic.
2. We
have made decent progress in several areas during the last 60 years. We have
produced world-class scientists, engineers, journalists, soldiers, bureaucrats,
politicians and doctors.
3. We
have built complex bridges and dams. We have sent satellites and rockets into
space. We have increased the number of doctors tenfold
4. We
have increased life expectancy from 32 years to 65 years.
5. We
have built about 1.25 million miles of new roads
6. we
have multiplied our steel production by over 50 times and cement production by
almost 20 times.
7.
We have increased our exports from a
few million dollars at the time of independence to more than $125 billion now,
with about $150 billion of imports
8.
Green
Revolution
a) This
revolution, which started in 1965, not only transformed India into a
food-surplus economy from a food-deficit economy but also triggered the
expansion of the rural, non-farm economy
b) The
lives of at least 400 million to 500 million Indians have been uplifted due to
this initiative
c) From
being a perennial importer of grains, India became a net exporter of food
grains 10 years ago.
9.
White
Revolution
a) Coming
from a generation that experienced an acute shortage of milk, it is
unimaginable that, today, we have become the largest producer of milk in the
world
b) The
credit goes to the extraordinary vision of one person, Dr. Verghese Kurien. In
a nation where children are malnourished, such abundance of milk has offered us
the opportunity to fight malnutrition with the means produced in India.
10.
Economic
Reforms Of 1991
a) The
economic reforms of 1991--initiated by the late Narasimha Rao, Dr. Manmohan
Singh, Shri P. Chidambaram and Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia--opened up the minds
of Indian corporate leaders to the power of global markets, helped them accept
competition at home and abroad, and raised the confidence of consumers.
b) Our
hard currency reserves have gone up from a mere $1.5 billion in 1991 to over
$220 billion today.
c) The
reforms encouraged entrepreneurship and gave confidence to businessmen and
entrepreneurs to dream big, create jobs, enhance exports, acquire companies
abroad and follow the finest principles of corporate governance.
11.
Independent
Media, Brave Journalists
a)
The success of a democracy depends
upon certain important values of governance: fairness, transparency and
accountability
b)
The freeing of media, particularly
television, has laid the foundation for improving these values in our
governments.
c)
The courage, enthusiasm and zeal to
seek truth of scores of idealistic journalists like N. Ram, Arun Shourie, Sekhar Gupta, Sucheta Dalal, Barkha Dutt and
Rajdeep Sardesai are what make us feel confident that the future of this
country is safe.
12.
Telecom
Revolution
a)
No other technology has brought India--the
urban and the rural--together so effectively as the 500-line EPABX designed and
implemented by the Center for Development of Telematics under the leadership of
Sam Pitroda
b)
This program brought fresh
confidence to the people, as they could reach out, in a jiffy, to their loved
ones, officials and doctors, just to name a few. People no longer feel that
they live in isolation.
13.
Space
Technology
a) Yash
Pal's Satellite Instructional Television Experiment blossomed into a full-scale
television facility connecting millions of villages of India
b) Television
has made our political masters realize that their actions and inactions will be
seen and judged by every citizen--from the forgotten villages of Assam to the
activist villages of Kerala.
c) This
technology has given voice to the opinions of a billion people--the rich and
the poor, the educated and the uneducated, and the powerful and the
disfranchised.
14.
Atomic
Energy
a) Dr.
Homi Bhabha conceptualized the Indian nuclear program and initiated nuclear
science research in India
b) His
program has made possible successful utilization of nuclear energy in defense,
power generation, medicine and allied areas.
c) Our
peaceful use of nuclear energy has raised India's prestige as a mature and
responsible player in this field.
15.
Software
Revolution
a) Vittal's
Software Technology Program, along with the economic reforms of 1991, laid the
foundation for this industry's spectacular progress
b) India's
information technology exports grew from a mere $150 million in 1991-92
to $31.4 billion in 2006-07, and is projected to reach $60 billion by 2010.
c) The
Indian IT industry is unique for several reasons. It focused on exports; benchmarked
with the best global companies; followed the finest principles of
corporate governance; created the largest number of jobs in the organized
sector; and demonstrated that Indians, too, could succeed in the most
competitive global markets.
Sixty
years of loss ? (why)
1) Although political freedom was achieved 60
years ago, economic freedom is still a distant dream for the majority of the
population.
2) there are factions within the country that
oppose economic freedom because they have a vested interest in the perpetuation
of a command and control economy
3) . Yet without economic freedom, the nation
is unlikely to achieve its potential.
4) If a little bit of economic freedom could
achieve so much, with greater liberalization one can expect the eradication of
persistent and chronic poverty.
5) India has to think beyond fossil fuel
because that is a limited horizon fuel, mostly imported, and the competition
for the limited resources will intensify with the growth of global demand.
6) Infrastructure can gain from privatization.
Roads, ports, airports, and railroads. I think the emphasis has to be on a
modern efficient fast rail transportation system.
7) We need to pay attention on education
system as well .
8)
We
lag behind in :
1. A
whopping 350 million are illiterate;
2. 260
million people are still below the poverty line
3. 150
million people lack access to drinking water
4. 750
million people lack decent sanitation;
5. 50%
of children are below acceptable nutrition levels;
6. basic
medicines are unavailable in 75% of villages.
To conclude, the world may get something from India’s
experience even when we do little to help others in an active way. While some
lessons are in well-known fields, including democracy, secularism, the media,
and others, there are further areas that may be worth bringing into comparative
analysis. If we really want to build a strong foundation, we need to address
the issues. Only then we will be able to look forward to a brighter tomorrow
