Share what you know about the year you were born.
The narrative of Independent India outlines its path post-independence, covering significant events from the 1952 elections to current-day advancements. Initially marked by communal strife and wars with neighboring countries, India’s journey includes the drafting of its Constitution in 1950 and the establishment of social and political programs. The nation has faced challenges like corruption and the Emergency of 1975. Despite these, it has made strides towards self-sufficiency. It also has ambitious future goals. There have been scientific advancements such as the successful Chandrayaan mission. The government’s focus on development and growth positions India to potentially become the world’s third-largest economy by 2028. This fosters optimism for the future.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- Independent India has faced challenges since 1947, including wars and communal strife, but has made notable progress in various fields.
- The Constitution, enacted in 1950, marked a democratic foundation, followed by India’s first general elections in 1952 and the establishment of key policies like the Non-Align Movement.
- The country experienced imposed wars with Pakistan and China, political turmoil including the Emergency of 1975, and rampant corruption.
- Despite past struggles, India aims to be a developed nation by 2047, with economic growth positioning it as the third-largest economy by 2028.
- Current progress includes scientific achievements like the Chandrayaan mission and a focus on self-sufficiency and sustainable development.
Introduction
Worst of all wars, World War II ended in September 1945. After the Atomic attack of the USA on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Japan surrendered. Axis powers vanquished. World War II had widespread effects. The USA and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers. Great Britain lost its supremacy. Pressure started mounting on Britain to free India. Clement Attlee had a sympathetic view and was in favour of giving autonomy to India. The Indian Independence Act 1947, passed by the British Parliament, received Royal assent in July 1947. India gained independence on 15 August 1947. Independent India – vivisected and bleeding.
Post Independence
The result of religious bigotry vivisection took place, which sowed seeds of communal frenzy. In independent India, dust was settling, but a few plumes still reared their devilish head. Communal conflagrations occasionally erupted to cause wide-scale disruption in public order and gravely threaten the law of the land. Migration to the newly created nation on the West and East sides of the vivisected India was continuing. The vivisection was artificial, based on religious intolerance. In the newly created country on the east and west sides of India, minority communities faced widespread persecution. This persecution led to significant challenges for these communities. A sharp decline in their population is due to state-sponsored acts of religious intolerance. The suppression of these groups was rampant.
Years after independence in 1947, the situation was still tumultuous and dicey in independent India. At the same time, with the world divided into blocks, a new world order had developed.
New beginning
More than three-fourths of a century before, the newly independent India was preparing for a new beginning. Optimistic but with a pinch of scepticism, people had started their journey towards a bright future. Oblivious to the happenings around him, a seven-year-old boy was perceiving the palpitations of the time.
(a) The Constitution enacted
Constituent Assembly discussed threadbare the provisions of the Constitution and finally passed it. The country adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 and enacted it on 26 January 1950. This was a resolution that the country made to run democratically. From then onward, the subjects of India became “We the People of India”. The people of India were now individuals with identity, not a mere herd of cattle.
(b) First General Elections
An infant born seven years after independence wasn’t capable of perceiving the surroundings till he reached the age of two. The impressionable mind of the child, after two, started picking up. The happening engraved in his mind. The country was free, and the time was euphoric. Yet, some parts of the country, like Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, were still under foreign rule. The first general elections in independent India were held in 1952. Riding on the wave of euphoria, Congress won the elections with a thunderous majority, but Dr B.R. Ambedkar was defeated.
(c) India and “Panch Sheel”
The newly constituted government was of a socialist bent of thought. It was right from their perspective and also was the need of the time. Vivisected and bleeding, India had started standing on its own. Big projects taken up and executed. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru would term these projects as new temples of modern India. The “Panch Sheel” agreement was signed between India and China in 1954. It underlines mutual trust and respect. The agreement laid stress on:
- Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity
- Mutual Non-aggression
- Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs
- Equality and Mutual benefits
- Peaceful coexistence.
(d) Non-Align Movement
Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of free India. He coined the word Non-Alignment while delivering a speech in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1954. Nehru started the Non-Align Movement (NAM) in 1961 in Belgrade. He was joined by Sukarno of Indonesia. Josip Broz Tito was another key member from Yugoslavia. Gamal Abdul Nasser contributed from Egypt. Kwame Nkrumah’s involvement was from Ghana. The founding members of NAM were unanimous and rightly believed that aligning with any block was not good. They viewed that in the world affected by the Cold War, developing nations should stay neutral. They should not align with the capitalist bloc, nor should they align with the communist bloc. Instead, they need to take a different way. Independent India chose its own way and stayed non-aligned.
(e) Sino-Indian war
The heavily inclined China policy proved detrimental. The country was unilaterally forced into a war in 1962. Despite the Panchsheel agreement, China attacked India in October 1962. It was a fiasco. Vanquished and humiliated, India faced an utterly shameful situation. Approximately 7000 soldiers were killed or captured. India lost a large chunk of Indian territory. This area was forcefully occupied by China.
(f) Boy’s perception
The seven-year-old boy was gradually growing. The days of school were listless except for a few momentous occasions. He vividly remembers the days of the Sino-India War of 1962. The entire country was preparing to cope with the war situation. Trenches were being dug to take shelter when the bombing occurred, and a blackout was imposed. He also distinctly reminisces how army Jawans were welcomed by people at railway stations. They were offered food items. People garlanded them. They would raise the slogan “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. There was clear anger against the country’s leadership and the enemy country. People would show utmost love and respect to their men going to fight against the enemy.
An era ended
The attack was shocking for Nehru. He couldn’t bear the shock and fell ill. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of free India, left for his heavenly abode on 27 May 1964. An era ended. The mind of our central figure, the seven-year-old boy, meticulously registered the happenings without processing them. Lal Bahadur Shastri took over as Prime Minister of India.
Imposed war
Soon after independence, several unwanted wars were imposed on India by its hostile nations. Ironically, the country that came into existence after the artificial division of India is like a thorn in the flesh. They deliberately are offensive and have attacked India several times, sometimes incognito, sometimes formally.
(a) Indo-Pak war
The hostile nation on the western frontier invaded Indian territory in 1949, soon after its creation. There was a series of stubborn and foolish misadventures by the neighbouring hostile country. Besides 1949, they took this foolish misadventure in 1965, 1971, and 1999. They tried to alter the boundary line in the Siachin area also. Failing miserably, they are now pumping terrorists and extremists for distraught bloodshed.
(i) 1965
Once a part of India, the neighbour became an enemy. The hostile neighbour on the western side of the country opened a front and waged a full-fledged war in 1965. Within two decades, India faced imposed three wars. A compulsive ceasefire occurred. Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji signed the peace pact in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1966. He died soon after. At that time, Tashkent was in the erstwhile USSR.
(ii) 1971: Emergence of Bangladesh
Once again, a war was imposed on the country in 1971. It started with the influx of refugees from the eastern part of the hostile nation. The eastern wing of that nation was facing autocracies, resulting in a civil war. They attacked India on the western front as well. The audacious enemy trespassed the international boundary at Longewala in the Jaisalmer sector of Rajasthan. Intrepid Indian army at the post under the command of Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri replied befittingly, annihilating the enemy. The Indian Air Force played a pivotal role in crushing the enemy tanks soon after dawn. The enemy army surrendered, and a new nation, Bangladesh, was born.
1975: Emergency imposed
With the progression of time, the seven-year-old boy was now a young man of twenty. He had gone for a walk in a local park. Suddenly, he saw hawkers shouting and waving a page of freshly released newspaper. They were selling the news that an emergency had been imposed on the country and the basic rights were suspended. All prominent political leaders of the opposition were arrested and booked under stringent sections of the law.
Rampant corruption
The country experienced a spell of corruption. A Prime Minister confessed to the nation. Only fifteen paise of a rupee were reaching the beneficiaries. The long spell of corruption stretched for long. A series of scams were unearthed and cases were filed. The country also saw how an extra-constitutional body was working and influencing the government’s decisions.
Lethargy and inaction
A long spell of inaction, lethargy and passing the buck pushed the country into the dark tunnel of chaos. The red-tapism, haughty and inefficient employees, increased lust and greed left the country in a lurch. The coalition governments proved inefficient and corrupt. People were tired of inaction, lethargy and corruption. They uprooted the government by the power of votes and brought an efficient and honest government.
Progressing India
India is a developing nation. The current government has resolved to achieve self-sufficiency by 2047. The goal is to become a developed nation by then. This year will mark the centenary of independence. It is heartening that the current government is working hard to emancipate the have-nots and marginalised people. It has successfully driven the country from the horrendous COVID-19. The government successfully developed the vaccine. It immunised the country in record time. People are proudly watching the progression of the country. They observed the landing of Chandrayan on the moon’s surface. The economy is galloping ahead.
Economic power
India is growing fast. It is projected to become the world’s third-largest economy by the year 2028. (The Economic Times) India is becoming self-reliant with sustainable economic growth. The circular economy is an honest step in bringing down the Carbon footprint and mitigating atmospheric pollution.
Collective effort
Prognostication, vision and missionary zeal can change the fate. People of India are hard-working and industrious. Their collective effort will certainly put India in the top position. So be it.
Further similar read:
-END-
Leave a Reply