|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
India since 1947: The
Independent Years
Gopa Sabharwal has cast off the colonial phase, Partition and the freedom movement to move onwards from 1947. She has mapped India since Independence, chronologically charting out events using a timeline format and categorising them annually with the arenas they belong to, for instance, government and politics, foreign relations, law and justice, armed forces, administration, infrastructure, finance, religion, transport, education, architecture, arts, films, books and literature, museums, flora and fauna, sports, etc. The author has culled the 1947-2007 phase from her book, The Indian Millenium: AD 1000-2001. This definitive guide to independent India takes us through the events and personalities that have shaped the country since Independence—the vicissitudes of democracy, the morphing of a nation from an economy driven by endeavours at self-sufficiency to one propelled by the economic reforms of the 1990s, and concurrently liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation that catapulted India’s stance as an Asian Tiger. It also delineates through chronology the era of single party dominance to that of coalition politics. The book has covered the entire gamut of topics though in one-liners entailing independent India’s strides—the first elections, the Green Revolution, the Five-Year Plans and the infamous Emergency that tarnished democratic dynamics. The book has political, social and cultural renditions with some interesting side remarks. For instance, Nehru while addressing a public meeting at Rohtak said, "Generally the Punjabis are hot headed. The weather in Punjab is also hot. When the two combine, the result is bound to be serious. But there is nothing to worry about. There is something of the Punjabi trait in me too—little short temper. My mother belonged to Punjab." (June 14, 1956). The author has listed the factoids, which outline the saga of the modern Indians history in single sentences chronologically, but she has essayed the prelude: a count down to Independence that we are celebrating 60 years, hence her timeline commences in 1947 which flash backs to 1885, when the inception of the Congress Party took place, from when India as a concept had not seeded. Ironically, it was the British who coalesced the congeries of states, gave them a lingua franca that honed the concept of a united nationhood. Paradoxically, this invocation culminated in endeavours that eventually succeeded in ousting the colonial rule 60 years ago, which today is a moment of celebration. At this juncture, when we serenade our national icons and achievements in our chauvinistic fervour, we must not gloss over the British contribution to our infrastructure, and above all the very notion of India. This is significant because whenever we celebrate our achievements, we never refrain from colonial basking so as to absolve ourselves of every pitfall in our independent endeavours.
|
India
at 60 is an appropriate juncture to commemorate the achievements,
introspect the progress as well as commiserate the glitches. It has
spurred off a plethora of celebratory events and triggered off reams of
publications. However, the books have majorly focussed on Partition and
the freedom movement (as if there were not enough) in all fairness and
objectivity.