As India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on August 15, it is an opportune moment to take stock of this sufficiently long journey. Listing the achievements, failures and missed opportunities is in order. It is more important to identify the ‘reset’ required to make up for the lost time, and fully tap the promised potential of our nation.
GUEST COLUMN M. VENKAIAH NAIDU
The long and hard-fought freedom struggle was all for self-rule, with the people as the masters in shaping their destiny. The stated goals of this struggle were ensuring ‘free’ Indians a life with dignity, encompassing basic rights, equality, socio-economic justice and prosperity. It is time to assess the gap between this stated mission statement and the ground reality.
THE BIRTH PANGS
Free India launched its journey as an illiterate, poor and iniquitous entity, against the backdrop of the painful partition. But we had a comprehensive socio-economic, political and philosophical mission statement in the form of the Constitution of India. Building a modern India out of the diverse, hierarchical and unequal socio-political and economic complexities was the main challenge. Poverty eradication, improving the quality of life and meeting the aspirations of a rising number of Indians through economic development have been the broader contours of this journey. Policy modifications and re-prioritisation, from time to time, have defined this arduous journey.
This story is from the August 22, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the August 22, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
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