Photo by Aniyora J on Unsplash
Monika Gupta
India is celebrating its seventy-five years of independence and twenty-five years from now will be a century of not only India’s independence but also a century of how far we have come as a nation since we regained sovereignty from colonial forces. Year 2047 will be the landmark year to look at India through the prisms of development, growth, gender equality, employment and other factors. As the world’s largest democracy, India has come a long way since 1947 but the road-map to next twenty-years of development will carry greater hopes and aspirations. This article attempts to look at the resolutions that will help transform India into ‘The India of our dreams' by 2047.
Whose resolution it is?
Before looking at what resolutions we need to make India into a global power by 2047, it is important to reflect upon who bears the responsibility to embark India on this path. It is perhaps the responsibility of every citizen of India, however, the role and contribution of youth is pre-eminently important. Youth of any nation are the bed-rock of development and hence their role can never be neglected. Besides them, the role of our scientists, budding entrepreneurs, women, leaders, social organizations, media and think-tanks stands supreme because of their ability to engage with newer developments in their fields and that becomes very crucial for visualizing India as a global power in the decades ahead.
Targeted Sectors for the next 25 Years:
In order to achieve maximum output from the existential inputs, it’s important to prioritize sectors that will be the hallmark of development and needs specific targeting and attention. In this regard, our economy will be the foremost priority as it has already suffered due to the pandemic. Economic growth will have spill-over effect in other areas of development. Apart from the economic sector, education sector needs a revival and the New Education policy is a huge step in this direction. The third in line would be the health sector. In the next twenty-five years, it will be important to not only make the health system accessible but also provide qualitative healthcare with advanced technologies and greater reliability. The next would be the defense sector considering the challenges that surround India either in the form of unpredictable neighbors or as unfavourable global alliances. A strong nation - economically, militarily and internally - gets valued and heard at international level. It’s crucial that India accelerates on these fronts to emerge as a global power based on inherent values of democracy, leadership, brotherhood, bonhomie, cooperation and unity.
India of our dreams in 2047:
What we dream is what we see, similarly, how we visualise India of 2047 will determine the resolutions we will adopt over the next twenty-five years. One wants to see India free from poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, corruption and other social evils. Over the next twenty-five years, India should transform into a powerful nation both internally and externally - implying free from all internal social evils and having the capacity to stand in the world with the best military, powered technology, rising economy and rich and creative human resources. Having the young and creative human resource in the country is an asset for its overall growth and hence India of 2047 should be a country of young minds, potential creators, impactful leaders, rising entrepreneurs, shining talents and individuals who carry zeal, passion, love and nationalism in their spirit. It is very important for nationalism to take right recourse in the next few years because a nation that’s not filled with nationalistic zeal and valor is a hollow country despite huge economy and strong military strength.
Resolutions:
Resolutions imply targeted goals that need to be addressed and fulfilled within a particular span of time. Similarly, while narrowing in on how we want to see India in 2047, it is important to make targets time bound, participatory and holistic. Our foremost target as a developing nation should be to work on economic fronts and making our economy stronger by bringing in some major reforms. Measures such as increased governmental expenditure and investment in different sectors like manufacturing, infrastructure, services etc would not only lead to creation of jobs but also provide ease and efficiency in the conduct of day-to-day businesses. Second, working on rural areas should be another priority as around 65% of the population resides in villages and if growth and adequate facilities can reach the last mile in the village, it is bound to reap economic benefits for the country.
Besides the economic sphere, there is a need to work towards gender equality and providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of their background. Issues pertaining to education of girl child, female foeticide, sexual harassment, domestic violence, rapes, dowry and related issues should be dealt with utmost severity and adequate penalization. Initiatives like Beti Bachao- Beti Padhao, Working women hostels, Mahila-E-Haat, STEP etc. are in the right direction.
The third resolution should be pertaining to our education system. The goal should be to convert the present education system into a system that is flexible, dynamic, provides equal opportunities and is more practical in approach considering the level of competition and challenges this system encounters. There is an urgent need to shift from rote learning to practical-based learning and this should be implemented at every level of the education-from school until the higher-education. NEP 2020 addresses many of the existing problems but still leaves scope for dynamic changes including technology based education, easier access of quality education to remote villages, maintaining the ease of online teaching and learning etc. Pandemic has taught us that no matter what education should never suffer and hence having a vibrant, efficient and dynamic system at hand helps to counter the coming challenges.
There can be many more such resolutions, for instance, improving the health-care system, increasing employment opportunities, preventing brain-drain, working extensively with our diaspora and involving them in India’s growth, enhancing both hard power and soft power tools for India’s advantage, increase India’s outreach on global platforms in all spheres be it foreign policy, fashion, food, culture etc. Each factor holds its own place in India of 2047.
Conclusion:
The next twenty-five years will be extremely crucial not just for our country but also for us as citizens of how far we have made it. Since independence in 1947, we have walked the path shown by the great freedom fighters. This has been the path of democracy, integrity, nationalism, brotherhood, unity and respect for constitution. In the next twenty-five years, India should strive to take a leap forward while keeping our core values intact in the direction of greater learning, acquiring skills, and striving for excellence. This should be the responsibility of every citizen.
The journey might look tough but the destination promises to be rewarding. We will witness a country so powerful yet so united, a global power with roots anchored deep into the past.
(Author is a research scholar at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.)