By Tarique Aslam
The largest democracy in the world, India, has come a long way, much like a roller coaster, but has managed to fly high with respect even while the rest of the world scoffed and assumed it would collapse.
The Constitution of India.
On August 15, 1947, when India was freed from British dominion, Pakistan was cut off from the rest of India. Happiness, Hope, and an everlasting gap in the wall that was divided by grief and a history that could never be forgotten all arrived with freedom. India was mocked by the British and other powers who believed that India would fall. Once more, India would ask for their assistance in governing their affairs or even their entire nation, but the Indians utterly demolished their hopes.
In this competitive world, where any weakness may have been an easy challenge to its sovereignty, a country with different faiths, regions, languages, castes, classes, and genders advanced to grow. In order to construct an India that would realize all of its dreams, visionary leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Maulana Azad, and Ambedkar assumed the helm.
The most historic accomplishment to date, starting with the most difficult assignment, was India’s unification of more than 500 sovereign states into one nation governed by a single constitution, shocking the entire world in the process. India not only managed its domestic affairs but also managed to have the best diplomatic relationships with the world, with the exception of two neighbors who have been a thorn in India’s side but have been able to fight and counter them smartly in the war field and on the world forum as well, the Ind-Pak and Ind-China wars did cause damage but with the sharp diplomatic relationship, India managed to safeguard itself from the burden of debt and invasion.
Pakistan Arm surrendering to Indian Army 1971
There have been regular amendments and rulings to give relief and rights to its citizens, such as free education for children, the criminalization of untouchability, the Panchayati Raj System, and the most coveted landmark ruling of the Basic Structure Doctrine to protect democracy from any majoritarian abuse. The nation did experience food insecurity and a shortage of milk as a result of the war and unbalanced trade payments; superpower nations mocked the country and threw wheat flour into the Indian Ocean as a slur, but the country and its leader didn’t bend to begging; rather, we managed to stand up on our own by bringing about a green revolution in agriculture, a white revolution in milk, and an economic shift toward LPG, making India today the largest exporter of Milk & Rice.
Manmohan Singh declared LPG in India.
Unexpectedly, India cared about both its people and its wildlife. The Wildlife Protection Act, which was passed in 1972, protected the animals to a certain extent and made India the only country on Earth with the top two apex predators, the Majestic Asiatic Lion and Royal Bengal Tiger, who have seen increases in their numbers from 18 to 720 and from 1200 to 3000, respectively. All of the large cats that no other country has today can be found in India. India is regarded as a learning center by the rest of the globe because of its compassion and care for animals and their resources.
Visionaries like Nehru thought that institutions like the UPSC, IIT, IIM, AIIMS, Commissions, etc. should be created to contribute, control, and administer the country since they understood the power of the nation shouldn’t be in the hands of a single person. These institutions have worked hard to develop the brightest minds, who have contributed to building the country, creating the greatest administrative systems, and protecting us from pandemics and epidemics. Today India is known for its technology and software hub in the global market and the largest producer and consumer of generic medicine serving the nation and the world. The CEOs of the Big Fortune firms, including Microsoft, Google, Twitter, etc, are all from India, and these organizations are renowned for instilling in their employees a commitment to excellence.
The nation of India may have crawled, walked, and ran but never stopped on the road to growth. At a period when powerful nations demonstrated their dominance by putting a halt to something, India opted to break all monopolies and smash the barrier to test their successful nuclear tests, showing the world its knowledge and bravery without concern for the penalties or the repercussions. India entered the field of space technology as well, launching several satellites into orbit as well as assisting other countries in using our launch facility to launch their spacecraft. In fact, India was the first and only nation to discover the existence of water on the moon. India is no less powerful than any other powerful nation because of its own navigation system, and the world has acknowledged our might.
By creating Bangladesh and dividing Pakistan into two countries, India was able to alter the landscape of the continent. By allowing the US parliament to make revisions to include Agreement 123 separately and exclusively for India to have a nuclear accord, it also succeeded to rewrite the most rigorous US constitution. India thereby demonstrated to the rest of the world that all battle is won not just with weapons but also with the mind. Whether dealing with Arabs, Asians, or Europeans, India has very good relations with all of the countries it does business with. India is the first and only country to have been granted permission to mine the deep ocean for rare elements due to its excellent diplomatic relations.
India gained respect and the belief that it is equal to everyone else in the world of sports when it won the world cup as the underdog team in 1983. That legacy instilled faith and confidence in the other sports as well. Indian sprinters like Milkha Singh not only outran the opposition and gained the nickname “The Flying Sikh,” but they also made their country famous through other sports like cricket, hockey, chess, javelin, and more. India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games and took home more than 100 medals; in 2011, it also hosted the Cricket World Cup and won the championship. India finished fourth, unstoppable ever then finish 4th in the latest Commonwealth games 2022.
India wins 1983 world cup at Lords
India had its first elected woman prime minister more than 50 years ago and is currently home to its second female president, while wealthy nations like the USA have not been able to elect any women as their executive head. India decriminalized homosexuality under section 377 of the constitution and with the help of the Supreme Court, which allowed for the election of a transgender person as mayor of an Indian city. The largest public distribution in the world was made possible by the UADAI (Adhaar)-based scheme, which acknowledged the eldest woman in the household as the family’s head and integrated women into the government program.
SC decriminalized section 377
India became the centre of telecom and internet-based services because of the world’s most affordable mobile service and the varied spectrum of connectivity that India’s telecommunications system has provided. India is the only under-developed country in the world to offer unlimited calling and internet access at the lowest price. Incoming calls are charged in other developed countries. India has managed to go digital in everything from reservations, bookings, navigation, shopping, and payments because of its enormous volume and usage of the internet. Through its UPI-based payment system, India became the largest non-physical payment nation, further advancing away from the use of currency notes, cheques, and plastic money. Internet-based payment services like UPI have transformed how the world runs.
UPI
India is currently developing and creating its distinct identity across all domains. There are various ways to cope with this, including building world-class highways, Becoming the world’s largest film industry, exporting missiles and medicines, dealing diplomatically and surgically with enemies, decreasing the economic burden through self-reliance, and creating a new market for the rest of the world.
There is no doubt that India is experiencing a difficult time and that urgent action is required to protect the country’s society, borders, and citizens. This can only be done if the government and the people as a whole work together. Independence is impossible if specific social groups, no matter how large or tiny, are treated in a manner that contradicts the constitution. Any less would fall apart and could obstruct India’s development. India isn’t prepared to accept any obstacles in the way of its progress at this moment.
Despite the lows of communal riots and cast disputes, India has moved with a sizable population that is made up of many different religions, hundreds of regions and castes, and thousands of languages and belief systems. The people of India eventually contributed to the harmony, rose above all adversity, and will continue to do so for the benefit of the country and its unity in diversity. Had there been any industrialized nations, they would have undoubtedly crumbled. Finally, a new India has evolved, one that won’t submit or grovel but will rule the world with the dominance of everything that it has to offer. This India has spread its wings and taken to the air in the pursuit of progress.