India in Retrospect

India's independence day is just a week away on August 15th.School children  will celebrate Independence day with zeal and fervor as usual.I still remember my school going days and the little township where we lived.As children it was a pleasant experience for children of the township to bring from a nearby grove,an areca nut tree trunk,which resembles an upright pole with pomp and fun to use as flag mast in an open space in the township.Another group of children would practice the Choir song " Vijaya Vijayanthi he " to be sung during flag hoisting.We would invite an elderly resident of the township to hoist the flag and distribute toffee to the assembled children.Thereafter there would be sports comptetition for children and naturally a prize distribution at the end.For many others it is a ceremonial protocol.For some others it could be just a day off from office and a mere holiday.

63 years have gone by since we got independence from the Britishers.Looking back in retrospect  it is certainly a pride to be an Indian.More than One billion people live in India.Naturally it would be an arduous task to manage and govern the world's largest democracy.It is believed nearly one sixth of the world population live in India.We have made giant leaps and quantum strides in many spheres and has started to be looked upon as a growing power by the entire world.Neverthless there are areas of concern and some deep rooted ills yet to be addressed.In this post I have made an asessment of the progress made by India since Independence and areas of concern. 

• I consider the progress made in literacy rate as the foremost.Because only a fully literate  nation can contribute to its growth and development.In 1947 india's literacy rate was less than  17 %.The last census in 2001 revealed the literacy rate as 65 % .I am sure the current census will reveal a much higher literacy rate.However the concern in literacy rate is the gap between  male and female literacy rate.Though the gap has narrowed down to 21 % in 2001 census,hopefully  2010 census would narrow the gap further.This is manifested in the increased percentage of employed women since independence.Indian Women have scaled to top posts in many spheres in India and world over.But what is lacking is political empowerment of women.One hopes the passing of the 33 % reservation Bill this year would address this issue.It is really cheering to have a women president for the first time in India.
• Another aspect an Indian can be proud of is the fact that the scientific manpower of India is the largest in the world.Even USA,Canada and Europe has significant number of Indian scientists in most of their key scientific establishments.It would be heartening if all these top Indian scientists contribute towards India's progress in all spheres.
• The colourful progress India has made in Agricultural production since independence is another area of satisfaction.It is a lietraly coulourful revolution-Green revolution(food grains)White revolution(Milkproduction)Yellow revolution(oil seeds) and Blue revolution(aqua culture).Horticulture and floriculture are other areas where India is making significant headway.
• India has made speedy strides in health care. India faced mammoth health care issues at the time of independence.Soon after independence India initiated a Malaria Eradication programme and succeeded.Spurred by this success India launched the Tuberculosis eradication prograame and succeeded to a great extent.Since independence, India's life expectancy rate has gone up significantly and infant mortality rate has been halved.The area of concern is the high maternal  mortality rate and a significant number of children are malnourished.India should now endeavour to expand the infrastructure for public health , medical care and ensure health for every one.
• There is considerable improvements in city Roads,Rural highways and urban infrastructure.But environmental issues remain an area of concern.We should put a stop to the depletion of forests.
• Over the past two decades Indian IT industries have made remarkable progress.India ia now considered as Asia's Silicon Valley.However the weak link in the IT sector is the hardware development and Manufacturing.These areas need to be addressed on priority.
• Another commendable factor about India is that still India is synonymous with Sprituality and Religion.India is home for all the major religions of the world.More importantly they live in peace and harmony.India remains truly secular despite many threats to its secular fabric.
• ISRO is considered as one of the leading space Research organisations in the world with satellite launch capability,manufacturing indigenous launch vehicles and lunar exploration capabilities.It is believed India's space research got a fillip because of India's continued economic progress. 

The progress made by India in last 63 years outweighs the ills currently faced by India.India is emerging stronger year after year and will surely overcome all the ills and become stronger in  the years to come. We can not remain contended with progress India has made in the last 63 years.There are surely some areas which need to be addressed on top priority.I have listed a few of them. 

• Indian administration is besmirched with allegations of corruption.Corruption among politicians and beauracrats are looming large.Lots of scandals have tainted the Indian administration since Independence.The need of the hour is transparency and integrity among politicians and officials.The nexus between criminals and politicians is another thing that is worrying.It is distrubing to note corruption is prevalent in corporate sector also these days.It is high time we root out corruption.
•  There should be a thrust to make eduaction 100 percent in the primary and secondary education level.Govenrment has passed the Right to education bill with this in view.It remains to be seen how this act is going to improve education at these levels.
•  Despite India's progess in IT,e-governance in India is still at its infancy.Computerising and streamlining procedures will bring in transparency,accountability and reduce scope for corruption.
•  Internal security of India is another area of concern.Of late countering insurgency has become the most important agenda of India's internal security. Inter communcal peace and law and order mainatanace have taken a back seat for Home ministry with increased terror threats from Maoists .This needs to be tackled on topmost priority.The immediate agenda for the home ministry must be neutralising the terrorist organisation and its leaders.
•  The sports arena is another area of concern.With more than a billion people in India ,our sportsmen perform below par in all international sporting events.There are few exceptions.But in these cases the honour was achieved by the hardwork of the individual concerned.There is no National impetus to improve sports in India.
•  The conflic between states about sharing river waters across state boundaries nedds to be resolved without delay.This could very well become a serious issue in the years ahead.The interstate disputes ACt has not helped to resolve these issues.This should not become the cause for political instability and civic discords.

All said and done, to me the most important thing about India is the Freedom and spirit of  democracy that we enjoy though there are some aberrations.Let us celebrate our Independence day with pomp and elan and look forward to a much stronger India.