India Turns Fifty

Erstwhile Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, and Hindu scholar, finds that India has some problems, but will prosper.

If one date marks the ending of the age of colonialism that dominated the world polity for five centuries, it is the 15th of August 1947, the day India got her independence. The sheer scope, size, and momentum of the Indian freedom movement make this date unique. It marked the breaching of the citadel of colonialism and its ultimate collapse. Within a decade or so, dozens of countries in Asia and Africa became free and a new, post-colonial era dawned. There is another reason for the date´s significance. For India, shaking off the colonial yoke was only half of the story; the other half was that India chose democracy. Many countries liberated themselves from colonialism, but not necessarily with their people becoming free and securing democratic rights. But, for India, with its legacy of a mass-based freedom movement, the choice of democracy was only natural.

Since that day 50 years ago, we have had a vibrant democracy and are probably unique, in the developing world, in having maintained a fully democratic system with a free press and an independent judiciary. The fact that one-sixth of the human race lives in a democratic system is in itself a major accomplishment.

Minority Coalitions
One of the achievements of independent India has been the democratisation of its political psyche. Before Independence, vast sections of India´s people were submerged and excluded from the political process. Today, people are aware both of their rights and that their vote can make a difference. In these 50 years, a process of ´inclusion´ has been in progress. Today there is the positive feeling that every legitimate political party, i.e. a party that accepts the primacy of our Constitution and is prepared to work within its ambit, can share power. In the last 50 years, almost every such political party has shared power, either at the centre or in the states.