India rose from the ashes to freedom in the last century. Let us look at some aspects of its dramatic transformation this independence day.
Culture
India has seen reclamation of its own culture in a phased manner since its independence. Indians under the age of 25, who now constitute almost half of the population, find themselves exploring the nuances of their culture in contemporary settings.
From cuisine, fashion, travel & social norms, there is a sense of a collective ‘return’ to traditions without compromising on the freedoms of today’s times.
Newer ways of inculturation of modernism are emerging everywhere- people are seen doing colourful religious rites in tandem with their corporate lifestyle in the metro cities, an example of which is the now famous ‘HR-rangoli’ in corporate India.
Indians now find themselves comfortable in their own skin and are more aware of their local histories. This is an important development keeping in mind the vagaries of colonial rule barely a century ago, which dehumanized them exactly for those beliefs.
The social prestige of English has taken a back seat, if not a direct hit, in the past few decades. The political replacement of English with Hindi as a language of the State by the new government is a consequence of several decades of linguistic revivalism. The results are for all to see.
Defence
The defence of the Indian State has been in a state of flux for at least three decades now. The front of the war with the enemies transitioning from conventional to asymmetric.
The civic society has become a new front of information warfare in the age of the internet & Artificial Intelligence. Defence, in general, has become more capital intensive, which means the modernization & streamlining of forces take paramount priority.
The military centrality of conventional warfare is slowly but surely will give way to air power. India is taking nascent steps in this direction, but it will be worth watching it in the upcoming decade till 2030.
The air power centrality will derive its legitimacy from the rising critical infrastructure which depends on satellite communication.
The air defence will also see a blurring of the boundaries between the atmospheric defence and space capabilities. The space forces inevitably will emerge, which will mean the weaponization of the space capability in India.
New India will see the climax of its armed forces’ power projection which was in motion since the 1990s. Admission of India into the major International Export Control Regimes & civil nuclear agreement with the West will mean more inflow of capital & technology.
It will further lead India to a critical threshold where it will achieve the threshold in defence research as well as manufacturing based on a strong supply chain being built now.
Governance
The keyword in the discourse of Indian governance has remained constant throughout contemporary history-Reform. Initially opposed, reforms have become the bread and butter of Indian politics and the model of governance across the political spectrum.
Reforms have acquired a distinctly pragmatic approach to themselves in the Indian context, free from ideological & tribal biases. Governance in India has also become centred around the passing down of benefits of economic growth to the poor masses.
From lifting millions out of poverty, policymaking in India is in a gradual shift towards making purchasing power of the masses more resilient. It is a reflection of the changing social geography of India since independence- the transition from poverty to a middle-income nation.
Social development along with targeted welfarism is going to be the main focus of the governance in India. Equally remarkable is the appropriation of Indian governance models within the official policymaking of India, which in turn is a legacy of western rule in India.
We can witness a generation of Indian administrators more in sync with this working mechanism and goals in the next two-three decades.
The integration of welfarism with wealth creation is going to be another important dynamic of governance, where the focus might be on arresting economic inequality as well as ensuring decent living costs balance with the average labour.
Politics
The development of politics in India had an interesting inflexion of direction in the 1980s. The transition was between the post-colonial politics of a free India with roots in British rule & the truly contemporary politics of a free India with a new emphasis on the socio-economic problems of the same.
The post-colonial politics of India was underpinned by the opposition to the Congress while having a consensus on the twin tenets of the Nehruvian era: Fabian socialism & secularism within a democratic setup.
The rise of modern politics in India has been a story of rebellion against this political order, with the most radical reaping the most harvest from the same. Secularism took a hit in the Ram Mandir movement, which culminated in the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.
The resultant communal mobilisation fuelled the rise of Hindutva in national politics, ultimately resulting in the formation of the BJP government in 2014.
The liberalisation and resumption of the OBC caste politics in the 1990s and the coalition politics started to co-mingle together into a largely pragmatic discourse in Indian politics.
Contemporary politics is the story of the decline of ideology & the rise of Identity-based politics where people are becoming more aware of the imperils of choosing a hung mandate.
This centralization of identities will further increase friction between social groups & hence the need for more cohesive social programmes to keep them together.
There is also a rise of a new understanding of India as a civilization and not merely a nation-state. The concept of ‘Civilizational State’ has been found purchase among the rising & educated middle class in India, often endorsed or spoken about by some of the summit level leaders of India & even other nations at various public events.