Okk lets take the bait.....
More than sixty years ago, in the summer of 1948, the Indian nation, then newly-born, was struggling for its very survival. It was pierced from the left by the Communists, and pinched from the right by Hindu extremists. And there were other problems aplenty. Eight million refugees had to be resettled; provided with land, homes, employment and a sense of citizenship. Five hundred princely states had to be integrated, one by one, a process that involved much massaging of egos (for the Maharajas tended to think very highly of themselves), and just a little coercion.
Few Indians now alive know how uncertain our future looked in the summer of 1948. The question then being asked everywhere was ‘Will India Survive?’. Now, sixty-four years down the road, that fearful query has been replaced by a far more hopeful one, namely, ‘Will India Become a Superpower?’.
Back in 1948, doubts were also being cast about the Indian experiment with nationhood. Never before had a new nation not based its unity on a single language, religion, or common enemy. As an inclusive, plural, and non-adversarial model of nationalism, the idea of India had no precedent or imitator.
For many years since 1948, the Indian experiment with nationhood and democracy was written off by Western observers. Indians were informed, through a series of premature obituaries, that our country was too diverse to be a single nation, and too poor to be run on democratic lines. To be sure, the nation was scarcely stable or secure – it lurched, as it were, from crisis to crisis, from riot to assassination to border conflict to open war. But somehow, India survived; somehow
(and despite the Emergency) it even stayed democratic.
When, finally, did foreign scholars and travelers concede that the Republic of India was here to stay? I think it was the year 1997 that marked the end of Western skepticism about the fate of India. That year, this unnatural nation and unlikely democracy officially marked five full decades of its existence.
Let me tell you history has witnessed many changes in the power quotient among the continents. In the eleventh century ancient India was a powerful country. Sometime in the 17th and 18th century the locus of power shifted to Europe. And finally in the 19th and 20th century USA has emerged as a power centre. 21st century will see the awakening of major Asian economies like India and China. Presently, India is ranked as the third most developing nation after USA and China; it is always good to hear that leading investment agencies like Goldman Sachs optimistically see Asia taking charge of the world economy soon.
Never in the world you will see a nation where still there some of the very structural problems to be addressed like corruption, child malnutrition, poverty and so on but still were are listed in the list of the "Potential Superpowers". All it takes is an excellent leadership all the way thorough. China and India were on the same platform in the 1980's but in a few decades only it transformed from a third world country to an emerging superpower under the excellent leadership of Deng Xiaoping.
We have come a long way since 1948; From "Will India Survive?" to "Will India Become a Superpower?" the way we have transformed this question shows our potential despite of the numerous hurdles in our way in doing so. The same way we have the potential to overcome these hurdles too in our way of becoming a superpower and to answer your question Yes India will be a real Super-power in the decades to come; The thing which all Indians are desperately in need of is a good leader to address the basic problems prevailing in the country then only any further advancement in the same is possible and maybe that's why I am a bit inclined towards Narendra Modi who might have not delivered his best as the CM of Gujarat but no other leader I see in the nation who can even deliver that much #that man is the only option left presently and maybe in the future too......
But on a personal note I think that India needs not play the catching up game with the already developed economies like USA. I don't want India to become another America. What I desire is that India should reclaim its past glory. It should lead the world in pursuit of knowledge; that's all. I would rather prefer India to be Happy and Smiling nation than a Super-Power......
#BTW a bit off-topic the thread poster does excellent work when it comes to research on India and its short comings, what I have observed is that this man is 24x7 busy posting some or the other thread on India, #give yourself a break dude so much of India obsession is not good for health; Take care.....
