Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

On August 15, 2022, India will commemorate the country's 75th anniversary of gaining independence from British domination. On this day, we honor all of our freedom fighters who gave their lives in defense of the nation. As proud citizens of this nation, it is our obligation to faithfully carry out our responsibilities and work toward the expansion and advancement of our nation. We have to take an oath to build a brighter future for our nation while keeping in mind the sacrifices made by our forefathers.

Our main goal in celebrating Independence Day is to educate our young generation about the pride and courage of our great freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for our country's freedom. It's the day we put aside our cultural differences and come together as true Indians. Youth awareness is necessary because the nation's future rests on the youngsters and their power to influence the country. As a result, our responsibility is to serve the country and make every effort to improve society.

Independence day is marked by a strong sense of patriotism and nationalism across the country. The day also reflects our pride and solidarity in the country's diversity. India, a land of people of all religions living together in a diversified society with a rich culture and heritage, celebrates this significant occasion with tremendous joy. We are elated, and it motivates us to defend our motherland against any attack on the country's dignity and sovereignty.

"Patriotism is religion and religion is love for India"

The Government of India has called to celebrate 75 years of independence and commemorate it as ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’. But, in reality, confining Independence Day to some celebration does not make any sense. Real freedom is necessary. Freedom from hunger, poverty, inequality, slavery mentality, and discrimination are the need of the hour. While there is much to be proud of in our record of the past 75 years, the unfinished agenda should make us humble and energize us to work together. The emerging challenges, at home and globally, should make us firm in our resolve to be united and to be cooperative.

Bharat, that is India, now moves another milestone to celebrate its 75th year of independence. It is also a milestone to reflect back on what we achieved in these 75 years, and what more we need to achieve. Finally, we need to articulate our vision, firm up a goal and get people, policies, and institutions aligned to the future vision. India has moved fast forward on all fronts, but due to a lack of a holistic approach, the success of one side is decimated by the ignorance of the other side.  

• India’s longevity has doubled from 33 years during independence to about 70 years now, but we are also diabetes and CVD capital of the world.
• India’s GDP has increased from 2.7 lac crore in 1947 to ~198 lac crore today - India has become the fifth largest economy but India’s GDP per capita at less than US$2000 puts India under a struggling LMIC – Lower Middle-Income Country.
• India has become the fastest growing economy but our national debt increased to a whooping ~130 lac crore.
• India has become a nuclear power but still, a percentage of Indians live without electricity and water.
• Agriculture is self-sufficient and produces five times more than it produced during independence but farmers are moving out of the profession at an alarming rate and the profitability of agriculture is a burning issue.
• India’s literacy rate increased from about 12 percent in 1947 to ~78percent, but employability is still a major challenge.
• The Indian education system is the second biggest in the world but still, an Indian has not won a Nobel Prize in science and education since independence.
• AIIMS, IISC, IITs and IIMs are among the world’s best education institutions but the rest of the education system is struggling to catch up, leading the bright and the wealthiest to move to the west for education.
• India has moved to Mars and is a world leader in space programs but the roads, water, and electricity are still to reach every household.
• India has added a billion more consumers post-independence but not commensurate buying power. So, the supply side has grown but we have not grown so much on the demand side because we have consumers but not the buying power.
• India has created a few world-class billion-dollar companies but MSMEs have not been able to catch up.
• Due to a few world-class healthcare facilities, medical tourists flock to India for treatment, but COVID-19 bared the reality for all of us, when medicines, beds, ventilators, and oxygen had to be imported to save lives.
• India is the pharmacy of the world but 70 percent of APIs for manufacturing medicines are imported.
• We have now moved from a nation with rationing of landlines - to more than 100 % telecom density, but the quality of voice and data is failing to deliver 2G levels, even though we have nationwide 4G and are planning to launch 5G soon.
• Indian Railways is the largest employer in India, but Indians still have to face a long waiting list to get a reserved seat, and railways still need a Tatkal scheme.
• Indians have powered the world with Indian skills and brains but India has failed to utilize the same brains back home.
• India has increased connectivity massively, both in terms of soft and hard infrastructure, but inequity has increased equally. 

So, when we look back, India achieved growth but not development, India achieved freedom but not independence. The reasons are clear;

• Instead of promoting meritocracy, we are still living and promoting entitlements and quid pro quo.
• We have programs for sharing freebies, but we are not focussed on creating wealth.
• We have always tried to be politically correct though economically unviable.
• Individual interests come above national interests.
• Rights come before duties.
• While we are upstreaming aspirations, we are lowering the level of national discourse.
• Instead of data and facts, we believe in unverified perceptions.
• Systems have changed, but mindsets are still the same!

In 75 years, Indian democracy has come a long way. India’s stature before the world has also grown and we are being looked up to as a ‘potential super-power and we can be described aptly as a hope for the world at this stage. But, we still have a long way to go, and we have to recognize that we are still a ‘developing country and that too, we in the middle rung of LMICs.

India of today has a capitalist objective, a socialist plan, and a communist-minded bureaucracy, where profit is considered ill-intentioned and bordering on criminality. Bureaucracy has bartered India’s development by seeking favors at the cost of the nation’s future.

When we complete 100 years of independence, about 20 percent of our population will be senior citizens (about 34 crores), which was India’s total population when we achieved freedom. So, we have to serve and care for the population India had when it achieved freedom. Our dependency ratio will undergo a major change and our demographic dividend would have inverted. As we enter the 76th year of independence, India at 75 is a young democracy, aspirational economy, and an aging nation.

We are not much worried about the past 75 years but more about the next 25 years. Five-year planning pursued by India gives me an impression of our short-term thinking, and perhaps why we failed to set a long-term goal. We have not been able to find a roadmap to make India a developed country. Dr. Kalam attempted something at TIFAC in the 80s, and it was sketchy and more on technology. If we had developed a roadmap for India in the 80s and worked sincerely, India would perhaps have become a developed country by now.

We need an Ecosystem approach and systems thinking. Else we will remain a land of contradictions. Also, in the last few decades, India has faced extremism fuelled by vile neighbors, but if we don’t pay heed to the climate emergency, we will face internal catastrophes due to ignoring our environment which will decimate development. Already, according to UN, India has lost about 25% of its GDP due to climate change.

It is time to plan meticulously to raise the GDP per capita to USD 20,000 over the next 25 years. Any organization if asked what they want; they will say, ‘Give us the best of people and some resources. India has plenty of both. What can stop us? This is a question we must ask, and let's come together to make a glorious Bharat in the next 25 years. When we turn 100, we should celebrate two milestones; one of India has become a developed country and the other of 100 years of freedom! You may be asked, ‘Is it achievable?’ and the answer is, ‘Does India have a choice?’

India needs the goal of JRD Tata, vision of Vikram Sarabhai, faith of Vivekanand and values of Buddha to become a ‘Ram Rajya’.

Where ever you work, keep in mind that you work for the country, and your employer helps you to take care of your daily needs. Let’s decide what is our goal, our priority – If it’s a developed India. No one can stop us. As Plato wrote in the 4th century BC, “What is honored in a country will be cultivated there”. Time for us to decide on what we will honour in this great country. The choice is ours!