She is best described as an anomaly; a nation bound to fail but which somehow manages to wriggle on. Poverty, unemployment, religious heterogeneity, cultural diversity and corruption aren’t usually the ingredients of a democratic nation.
‘India ridicules political theorists and their insightful axioms of what is required for success’
Throughout the 60 years that India has remained a republic there have been a plethora of enthusiastic predictions all drawing the same conclusion: doom. With every death of a Prime Minister it has been prophesized that anarchy will replace democracy; after every religious riot the disintegration of a united India expected; with every failure of the monsoons destructive famine anticipated. India ridicules political theorists and their insightful axioms of what is required for success.
Today India is the recipient of laud and invokes deference. The integration of the princely states into a singular nation pre-independence, the division of a mighty nation into the dominions of India and Pakistan, the Pathan invasion of Kashmir, the communal riots that rocked partition and communist threats are all itches that have been scratched. India has a booming economy, her judiciary sets precedents, her elections are free and fair and her fourth estate is steadfast in uncovering the latest political ‘masala’. Dissent is rarely confused with disloyalty. Education systems, while imperfect, are improving. The intellectual rigour of the diverse Indian populace allows them to criticize their fellow nationals without resulting in Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’.
Praise is an excellent way to encourage, but we must avoid encouraging complacency. India’s progress ought to leave a lot to be desired by her citizens who have become comfortable with the present. Where once stood the eloquent and loquacious Nehru demanding change, today demagogic rhetoric dominates the airwaves. Communal influences once divided India, today religious leaders unite to restrict sexual liberties. Instead of sagacious patriots and bold nationalists, today we have corrupt politicians. Where there once stood ‘Ahimsa’, today stands aggressive foreign policies intent on securing India’s position as a nuclear vixen.
‘Catching up with the world has lowered her voracious appetite for progress’
Where once stood a mighty nation, today stands a nation that is far too comfortable with where it is. Catching up with the world has lowered her voracious appetite for progress. If despite staggering odds, India has progressed, it is also necessary that she soon overtake her privileged counterparts and to do so it is exigent that Indians recognize their apathy for the present.
Ramachandra Guha, an Indian historian, ended ‘India after Gandhi’ with ‘Speaking now of India, the nation-state, one must insist that its future lies not in the hands of God but in the mundane works of men’. So long as we can kindle the flickering passion for reform, so long as there are intrepid thinkers who can point out our deceleration, so long as we can tolerate criticism, India can hold her role as the world’s largest democracy. The climax of India’s history is still to be written.
