Seventy five years as an Independent nation, we have progressed beyond the wildest dreams of our oppressors for 200 years, the British. We have belied all grim ‘forecasts’ of leaders of the West who said India would not be able to handle a free existence, or even rule ourselves. We have done better; today many of the erstwhile British Empire’s iconic enterprises belong to Indian companies. Today, many of their sickeningly obese legal pronunciations have been obliterated and new, fresh, lithe legislation have taken their place. We have improved in scales of healthcare, education, social equality and wealth distribution. In many instances, we also lead the world in technology.
This is not to cast aspersions on the British. When they invaded us, the Indian economy was churning out a GDP close to 25% of the world GDP. When they left, having sucked the lifeblood out of the nation, we were down to low single digits, teetering on the brink of literal and metaphorical starvation. The fight-back of our economy and our society as a whole has been miraculous, to say the least. We have every reason to celebrate our independence, our swaraj, our rights, our hopes and aspirations, our progeny.
Seventy five years on the log of history is a mere blip. Yet, we have progressed to a stage from where the possibility of being marked as a developed economy, a developed nation, looks bright. While, in the process we have overcome Himalayan odds, we cannot forget the contribution of the multitude of people who sacrificed their lives for us, for our independence that we hold so close tour hearts and cherish as a birthright.
On this occasion, let us pay our homage to those brave souls who gave us this day, this opportunity to be grateful. We wish all Indians a very happy, independent life.
