Category: India @ 75 "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" - Special Articles

Born in February 1947, I am also celebrating Amrit Mahotsav of my life, a proud coincidence, but do not have any remembrance of 15th August 1947.

India of today is vastly different from that of 75 years ago. Our upward growth story is impressive across sectors. New Economic Policy of 1991, Demonetisation, Tax Reforms in the form of GST, and many more such initiatives by the Government that brought about liberalization, privatization, and globalization enabled India to progress rapidly compared to other developing nations.

Some impactful Achievements over the last 75 years are:

• Nominal per capita income growth from US $ 64 to US $ 1,498.

• GDP growth from 2.7 lakhs Cr. to 147.79 lakhs Cr.

• India substantially reduced its rate of poverty and increased its standard of living.

• Literacy rate increased from 12% to 74%.

• White and Green Revolution in Agriculture.

• Health-care improvement enabled to fight against the recent pandemic.

• Sports: Winning in Olympics and World championships from badminton to chess and cricket to shooting.

• Entertainment- Bollywood to Television to Digital OTT.

• IT revolution, concurring Space, Nuclear power.

• Industrial revolution: Booming Infrastructure, startups, Unicorns.

• Empowered Women, Global Indians.

And the list goes on…..

India has no doubt, problems, and issues to deal with, but the people of India will deal with them successfully because they know how to care for the Nation which is most dear to every Indian.

India’s most significant achievement is its ‘UNITY IN DIVERSITY’. India does not recognize any racial groups. The term ‘Indian’ refers to nationality rather than a particular ethnicity or language. A nation is a creation of the psychic state of the people who are connected by a common thread of culture, food, lifestyle, and who are bound by the idea of unity and fraternity, etc. It is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society. It is often said that there are multiple nations in the nation that is called India.

Due to the vast population and consumption, India has a high growth rate and a very large market. As per the latest estimate, India is going to be the most populous country in the world in 2023. Its most advantageous position is its young demography, and these youths need to be provided proper Direction. To that end, all available natural resources and strength must be utilized to the optimum to make India a superpower in terms of Economy, Culture, and Spirituality.

Today, globally across the world people at large and, also those in power are looking to India and are eager to collaborate with it. They want Indian Entrepreneurs to come to their country, which will be a win-win situation for all.

However, India’s weakness is in its governance and the lack of political will to overcome it. Those in power must look forward and should not attempt to rewrite history, but instead focus on the future to make India a GLOBAL LEADER and SUPERPOWER in the true sense in times to come.

After 75 years of independence, India has a stable economy. India and Indians achieved success by overcoming multiple challenges and risks through their sheer grit and determination. Above all, there is the confidence that “Independent India’s Achievements @ 75” are guiding lights predicting a glorious future for our Country. People in Governance must ensure that this momentum does not lose steam but is accelerated for real and sustained progress.

At the last, wishing that when India Celebrates its Centenary of Independence, what we have dreamt of today becomes a Reality.

Note: Incidentally, the Theme of the BCAS Diary 2022 and 60th year Diamond Jubilee Edition of BCAS Referencer was “Independent India’s Achievements @ 75”. This has given me the immense information and confidence to accept the invitation of the Journal Committee to write this article.

It is a proud privilege to us as Indians that we are celebrating 75 years of our democratic nation and I have the pleasure to pen down a few stray thoughts.

I was just two years old when our country got independence in 1947 and being an infant, it hardly made any difference to me then. The first glimpses of Independence Day arose in my life as a school child, where we all were required to join the Independence-Day morning procession, but the real joy was no school thereafter and a full day for play.

As a natural progression in age and with a zeal to read everything, I started to understand the History of India, its culture, the governance of previous regimes including the British rule of India, and the importance of Independence-Day as a proud Indian citizen.

When one wants to understand the significance of India’s Independence, one has to assess the progress made so far in various fields. Looking from a materialist point, certainly, there are changes in infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc. One however wonders whether enough is done and whether and to what extent there were leakages in the system in favour of those who already have it at the cost of those who do not have it.

I ponder over the subject and it pains to see that we did not utilize 75 years to their best. While celebrations are good for what has been achieved, they should be backed by a resolve to achieve more, at a faster pace, so that we can achieve the dream of “Ram-Rajya” at least when we celebrate the Centenary of our Independence Day.

Independence as a nation in this global village is a myth and although there could be nations like India with well-defined geographical boundaries, real progress at a faster pace can be achieved only with a healthy interdependence and co-existence along with other independent nations in the world. For many years, we had a tag of the non-aligned nation, swaying between left and right like a seesaw and no one took us seriously, rather treated us like a child playing in a garden. The effectiveness of a nation depends on a national leader who develops cordial relations with other nations. Fortunately for the first time, in the last 8 years, we see this capability in our current leadership of Shri. Narendra Modi. This I consider a big positive, while we celebrate the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Just as the Independence of our nation depends on developing international bridges, a lot needs to be done even internally which was neglected in the past. The socialistic pattern of society was the dream of our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. However, this socialistic pattern, unfortunately, turned into developing public-sector companies as white elephants. The employees in such organizations pretend to be busy and their seniors enjoy perquisites at the cost of a common man who is struggling to get two square meals a day. The chairman of the largest public sector bank, the largest port trust, enjoys the luxury of the largest and costliest real estate in Mumbai at the cost of several people living in slums just near the palaces of these big public sector lords. These are just a few examples of the reality of public sector businesses that run under the so-called socialistic pattern. Pension for life, salary, daily allowances, travels, and food subsidies, which are given entirely tax-free to MLAs, MPs are giving rise to newly created Jahagirdars and Jamindars, whereas the common man is suffering. That has also given encouragement to private sector lords in the corporate world who get benefits of finances from public sector banks and flee the country by just dumping their obligations and all this at the cost of taxpayer’s money. We need to change these unholy alliances in the next 25 years. There could be material progress but at the cost of increasing the gap between rich and poor and this will surely give rise to multi-fold unrest and needs to be changed. Is it a utopia or a possible and achievable dream? Let us ponder over this in this 75th year of independence.

On the social/cultural front, the Joint-Hindu-Family concept has been replaced by a smaller nuclear family concept, by sheer force of economic and social necessities. Joint-Hindu-Family (HUF) remains only for the purpose of tax advantage. The lower and upper middle-class need to check whether their relations inter-se, which may be leading to hypocrisy. Is there a possibility of changing the mindset of people in tax compliance and tax administration or is it just a utopia? Well, it will depend upon the administrator giving up his role as a servant of a colonial ruler who wants to please his master and earn for himself from the system. On the other hand, public-at-large should give up the mindset of making efforts to minimize tax in an artificial manner. Present initiatives in such matters through technological Initiatives and artificial intelligence are steps in the right direction, but they must be backed by a change in the mindset of people. After all, technology is created and operated by the human mind.

Similar efforts need to be made in the field of education, health care, and family welfare. Let us all hope and work for positive changes so that we can celebrate the centenary of Independence with increased joy.

India has been doing tremendously well in many sectors today. We came a long way from the days of independence.

In the last seven-and-a-half decades, India achieved remarkable development in agriculture, heavy industry, irrigation, energy production, nuclear power capability, space technology, biotechnology, telecommunication, oceanography, science, education, and research.

The huge improvements in India in terms of literacy rate and per capita income since 1947 can be regarded as among the biggest achievements of post-independence India. In 1947, the literacy rate in India was only 12 percent. It rose to 77.70 percent in 2021.

India’s achievements are numerous and include a strong democracy, robust roots of secularism, higher education, nuclear power, stunning economic growth, and revival of numerous aspects of traditional wisdom. Owing to the talent and will of the countrymen, we can see that India has reached among the top countries of the world especially creating strides in science and technology and various other fields.

It is quite an interesting fact to know that India is one of the greatest hubs for Information Technology services. A report showed that out of the top 20 best Information Technology companies in the world, 5 companies are Indian companies.

Yoga is India’s gift to the world for health and peace. Yoga keeps both your body and mind healthy. It strengthens your body and keeps your mind at peace.

In 2014, the UN General Assembly overwhelming adopted a draft resolution, declaring 21st June as the “International Yoga Day”. A record 177 countries co-sponsored the resolution.

Government officials said that the proactive strategic and policy-level leadership by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which included the “Make-in-India” and “Make-for-World” mantra, has helped the country to achieve the goal where nearly every adult has been fully vaccinated with Made-in-India vaccines.

India has crossed the record 200 crore mark in Covid-19 vaccinations within 18 months of launching the inoculation exercise in January last year. The last 100 crore vaccinations were done in nine months, the same time period which took the first 100 crore vaccinations to be done, showing that the pace did not slacken.

Despite global disruptions last year, India exported a total of $ 670 billion – Rs. 50 lakh crores. Exports are vital to a country’s progress. Initiatives like ‘Vocal for Local’ have also accelerated the country’s domestic consumption and exports.

Last year, the country had decided that despite every challenge, it must cross the threshold of $ 400 billion i.e., Rs. 30 lakh crore merchandise exports. We crossed this also and made a new record of export of $ 418 billion i.e., Rs. 31 lakh crore rupees.

Today, every ministry and every department of the government is giving priority to increasing exports with full government support.

India of 2022 is massively different from India in 1947. India is the fifth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). With numerous advancements in the nation, it is no wonder that venture capitalists, multinationals, private equities, and foreign participatory investors are betting high on India’s growth story. It is also not a surprise that today India is also an attractive destination for foreign investment.

India’s improving economic performance and the talents of the Indian population have enabled the nation to bridge with both developed and developing countries. The nation has deepened its relationship with the United States, Russia, Europe, and other countries. The initiative taken by the government with the US on a civil nuclear agreement opened a new chapter in India’s technological development.

The Indian government has always taken the lead in India’s active participation in the Asian community-building process. India today, as a nation, is warmly welcomed to almost every vital Asian and Asia-Pacific forum. India has advanced its economic and security engagement with the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific region. The nation has strengthened its economic and defence relations with countries of West-Asia and the Middle East and of East and South-East Asia.

I strongly believe that more exciting transformations will come soon through which all our people will benefit!

A nation in existence with glorious past hundreds of years and abundant richest natural resources, now completing its’ journey of 75 years as Azad (independent) nation, is indeed a matter of pride for its’ over 140 crores population. A significant portion of the current population is from the post-independence period; few have witnessed both pre and post-independence, and very few have experienced and understood both the era and are in a position to narrate. I was born in the pre-independence era and have grown in the post-independence period.

As time progresses, we appreciate the real essence and value the taste of freedom – AZADI. Undoubtedly, as a Nation, we can claim with a sense of great pride that, yes, our country has satisfactorily progressed well and has captured the glorious position and its existence felt around the globe. The event of Celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is a dream of every citizen of our great country India – Bharat. In the present day, we consider only current contributions to the progress of the nation and disregard the capital contribution of the class of individuals and their sacrifice at the root level of achieving freedom.

We usually inherit the legacy and do not recognize the bequest and benefactor. An old Vietnamese proverb states, “When eating the fruit, think of the person/persons who planted the tree”.

We rightfully owe the duty of expressing our gratitude and recognizing the value of the CORPUS. The scenario we witness in present days and our being part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav would not have been feasible but for the patriarch and the movement by individuals who made this possible. We should accept that we have got onto a train that has already started. At this juncture, we offer our sincere tribute to all the Leaders and Individuals for their sacrifice and contribution who visualized and initiated the movement of Independence – Azadi.

I feel that the real essence of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is due to the achievements during the post-independence era in the following fields for the general welfare of the citizens. Nothing has happened by accident, magic, or overnight. It is the result of continuous efforts, passion, and vision of all concerned during the past several years.

a)   Self-dependency in the field of agricultural products.
b) The developments in the field of infrastructure, i.e., roads, bridges, dams, communication systems, harnessing natural resources and making the best use of them.
c)   Increasing transparency.
d)  Abolition of a plethora of outdated laws.
e)   Paperless transactions, digitization.
f)   Increasing use of Information Technology.
g)  Reforms in education systems, the opening of new education centers and colleges.
h)  Availability of services in the medical field with the latest technologies.
i)   Increasing exports.
j)   Sailing smoothly during natural calamities and epidemic situations and ably tackling the terrorist activities/issues on borders.

These are the few areas out of many more.

It is commonly accepted that the future of the nation is in the hands of our youth, and expectations are multifold from them. Progress of the nation is essentially the responsibility of our youth. We expect that priority should be entrusted to the youth in the implementation of new projects and politics too. The vision of youth needs to be harnessed at every level to continue the momentum of progress.

Our Society, a voluntary organization of Chartered Accountants, was founded in 1949. Thus, we are trailing behind the nation in celebrating Amrit Mahotsav of our Society. May I suggest that the present team of President, Office bearers, and Committee members commence planning of Amrit Mahotsav celebration of BCAS and appoint a special committee to chalk out the agenda for the same in a befitting manner! I extend my Best Wishes for the same.

I congratulate the entire population of our Great Nation on this occasion!

In the early days, life was different. Things were much simpler. People were closer. Families would sit in the evenings and talk as there was no TV. Things were difficult in many ways as there were fewer facilities when we look at comforts and convenience. Yet life was generally simpler. When we went to America in 1960s on an exchange program with other CAs, we got a few dollars per person to spend on a long trip. We had to be very frugal in spending. Things are so much different today. As a child, I played in open by rolling a wheel on the mostly empty road. The time before TV (the 1970s), the time before mobile phones, and computers was different. We had fewer clothes, fewer things in general. The joys of life were simpler yet still fuller. Perhaps because things were fewer, not so easily available, or available frequently, the joy when you had them was immense. I remember waiting for a car for months before getting allotted one. One cannot even imagine doing a trunk call overseas or to another location in the country.

We paid much more taxes in those days. During the estate duty time, we paid about 100% as taxes along with estate duty on the death of my father and had to sell assets to pay taxes. In the field of accounting, there were handwritten books. We used to audit them. Chartered Accountant exams didn’t allow calculators. Now everyone has a camera on their phones, a Rolleiflex in those days was a big item to have. When the colour film came, I used to send films for printing to my sister in London and get good colour photographs. We used to take photographs sparingly and carefully as we had only so many shots per film. In those days I and my wife used to go movies every Saturday, not mainly to watch the movie but to see the newsreel on the screen, that changed every Friday. This was how it was before the TV came.

Despite so many difficulties, generations worked very hard to come out of relative poverty, and with their hard work and abilities, India has risen. Hard work, focus on the education of children, and sincerity of people made India grow. The government’s suspicion, too much control, and suppression of private enterprises slowed the progress in the initial decades. Our significant achievement is that we could stay together as one nation for 75 years despite being small states prior to freedom and being so diverse in every way.

As belonging to the same soil, we have a unique advantage. We are the oldest living civilization that is still continuing. All other civilizations – Egypt, Mesopotamia, Chinese, Greek, Persian, Mayan – have vanished or been destroyed over time. For some unique reason, we have survived and thrived. Every family has part of that civilization built in their culture and customs and our outlook towards so many things. Let us look at how we view nature. So many trees, mountains, and rivers are sacred and venerated. Sun and light are worshipped, and today solar power is occupying the centre stage. When most of Europe and other parts believed that the world was flat, we had the word Bhugol as the word for geography where the shape ‘round’ is built into the word for geography. We have the advantage of the past, but we cannot go into the future based on past laurels and achievements alone. We have to apply, our distinct advantages to achieve the future that is in store for us. Indians in general can be more orderly, more disciplined, and more consistent. We need to improve our sense of time in many ways. We can be better at keeping our word. Some people have a false idea of traditions, customs, and religion. Many are in awe of the west and still feel like lesser mortals.

I think we don’t need to become a global leader, we should just become what we are inherently capable of becoming and that will do the magic for us in every field. When we begin to live our universal wisdom and apply it to our current situation for the benefit of all, we can truly celebrate our freedom.

Now that India is celebrating 75 years of independence from British Rule, my memory goes back to that historic day, 15th August, 1947 when I was 11 years of age. I remember, on that day the eyes of the Nation – one happily celebrating well-earned independence after many years under foreign rule and the other eye shedding tears because of the pain and the tragedy that happened in the aftermath of the partition of the country.

Those days, there was no television and hence we have to solely rely upon newspapers and radio for news. The newspapers carried photos of scared people traveling precariously on train tops to save their lives, leaving India for Pakistan or from Pakistan to India. Memories of large-scale thefts, hooliganism, the massacre of many, and the outrage against the dignity of women and children are still alive. These are very scary memories.

Then came the brutal assassination of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948 which plunged the country into grief and mourning.

These were followed by years of socialistic pattern of society, which, though the people of India welcomed in those days but now in the hindsight, it is widely felt that the same made India weak and increased poverty. We saw license raj on a very big scale, which lead to rampant corruption because of scarcity, which destroyed the moral and social fabric of the country. Since then, the generations of people that followed, born in corrupt India, learned how to circumvent controls via corruption. When we elders advised them not to support corruption, they felt that we were out of step with the prevailing scenario.

A license from the government was required for every industrial activity. The country faced an extremely high rate of taxation, going up to 98%, very tight foreign exchange controls, and a prohibition on using foreign brand names. Nationalisation of many enterprises, banks, airlines, etc. followed which proved that “It is a poor nation whose government is involved in business and commercial activities”.

Poor people became poorer, and the rich became richer. We had only two indigenous brands of motor cars, Hindustan Ambassador and Fiat, which was later renamed as Premier Padmini, the qualities of which were very poor, and the waiting period was very long.

The country began to be known as an underdeveloped country and gradually rose to the status of a developing country. The country reached the peak of the foreign exchange crisis in 1991 when the country had to pledge its gold to rescue itself internationally.

The real recovery of the economy started in 1991 with a gradual easing of the licensing regime and also easing of foreign exchange controls and the gradual introduction of reasonable rates of taxation.

The most significant achievement of India started slowly when the international community including IMF and United Nations started to recognize our country’s potential which led India to be internationally recognized and respected.

Now, we Indians have regained the confidence to keep our heads high and live with respect and dignity. The lifestyle, standard, and quality of life of us Indians have improved considerably. Our people are now confident that our country will be considered an economic superpower very shortly and become the global leader in terms of spirituality through yoga and culture because of dedicated honest leadership.

There is considerable development in the fields of technology and professional opportunities which were unknown in the early years of Independence.

The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is bound to inculcate the spirit of adventure, well-being, and a bright future amongst Indians, particularly the younger generations.

Now the mission in the life of us Indians is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some compassion, humour, and style. Courage is the most important virtue because without courage one cannot practice any other virtue consistently.

My memory goes back to 80 years, when the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhiji, gave the British Government an ultimatum on 8th August, 1942 to ‘Quit India’. Many selfless workers joined the ‘Quit India’ movement and courted arrest. We had to fight for five years, during which period many freedom fighters laid down their lives. Ultimately, on 15th August, 1947, we could achieve our goal of Independence. Although the Britishers decided to Quit India, they gave us a parting gift in the form of the partition of India. Our country was divided into two parts, and a separate country Pakistan was created. The memory of this separation and the sufferings of displaced persons from the area allotted to Pakistan is fresh in my mind even after 75 years.

We got Independence 75 years back on 15th August, 1947. At that time, there were over 500 Princely States in existence in India. Unless these States co-operated, it was not possible to form a unified India. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who undertook to convince all these princely States to join a Unified India. As a result of his efforts, states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa etc., were formed. Princely states in the Saurashtra region also agreed to merge into erstwhile Bombay province. There was a major problem about the state of Jammu and Kashmir that could not be satisfactorily resolved, and even today, there are some unresolved issues that we are trying to resolve.

The first three years after Independence were devoted by the Constituent Assembly for drafting our Constitution. With the efforts of the stalwarts, we got our Constitution, and the Republic of India came into existence with a written Constitution on 26th January, 1950. Elections were held on an all-India basis and in the states, and elected governments were formed at the Centre and in various States.

Initially, there were very few political parties. The Indian National Congress, which had played a prominent part in the freedom struggle, was the major all-India party. Over a period of time, all-India parties started to lose control, and at present, we have over 100 small regional parties.

During the journey of 75 years, we have seen several political parties coming to power and trying to implement different ideologies. Due to the behavior of politicians with different ideologies, one can say that we have not been able to achieve the desired maturity in democratic governance. The persons in power and in the opposition fight on many insignificant issues and confuse the people. This leads to unnecessary conflict. For a healthy democracy, there is a need to have only two or three political parties in a country like ours. Once we have a strong Government which is run by dedicated persons who have the support of the common man, the evils of corruption and unhealthy practices will disappear.

These 75 years of our Independence have seen tremendous progress in the field of Education, Science, Technology, Finance, Commerce, etc. Many Indians have migrated to various countries and achieved recognition. This is the reason why a Person of Indian Origin, is at present, the Vice-President of USA. The Britishers have ruled our country for over 100 years. Now, hopefully, we will be able to see that a Person of Indian Origin will rule Great Britain as its Prime Minister in the near future.

Let us celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with the hope that we will be able to eradicate poverty in our country and eliminate the conflict between communities which exists at present during the next 25 years when we reach the centenary year of our Independence.