 On January 26, 2010, the Republic of India, the world’s largest liberal democracy rich in ethnic diversity with over 1.2 billion people speaking hundreds of languages, celebrated its secular birth. On this day of joyous celebrations, caste, creed or religion for people of India, did not matter at all. It was January 26 of 1950 when the constitution of India came into force and India attained a sovereign status. The Preamble of the constitution seeks to establish what Mahatma Gandhi described as “The India of my dream: - an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice - an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in an India for the curse of untouchability. Woman will enjoy as the same rights as man.” Freedom has given India the resolve to deal with adversities and look beyond the gloom of the moment. It did not happen miraculously. The country has struggled every inch of the way to reach its present vantage point. It has been a brave journey to independence and beyond. India fought the British Crown without arms for Swaraj and won its independence and made a magnificent “tryst with destiny” for the sake of equality and to wipe every tear from every eye, as proclaimed by Jawaharlal Nehru. The largest democracy in the world has survived for over 62 years with all its shortcomings. On this momentous day, India took stock of its achievements in various areas, for example, space race, nuclear energy, and economic growth. However, it is also imperative that the nation tries hard to improve health issues, eliminate acute poverty, increase illiteracy, wipe out widespread corruption, and prepare to meet internal and external security threats with renewed resolve. For the efficient functioning the democracy India needs, as Nani A. Palkhivala used to say,
 “Experts imbued with a spirit of dedication and wisdom--- to be inducted into the cabinet.” Dr. Manmohan Singh, a man of great intellect and impeccable integrity, is trying his best to keep, ill-equipped, self-serving, and ambitious politicians hungering for limelight and power out of the areas of influence. There is the vision of India emerging as a major scientific and technological power in the world. At a time when rich nations and fast-growing developing countries alike are looking to ensure that science and its associated technological benefits become the bedrock for future competitiveness, India cannot afford to fall behind in this race. In the seven years up to 2007, research publications from India rose by about 80 percent. “We have worked hard to do what is good for science,” observed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he inaugurated the Indian Science Congress at Thiruvananthapuram. “We also know that we need to do much more because scientific capability is what will determine our ability to overcome the challenges which lie ahead, it is unfortunately true that red tape, political interference and lack of proper recognition of good work have all contributed to a regression in  Indian science in some sectors from the days of (Nobel laureate) CV Raman and other great pioneers of Indian science,” bemoaned the Prime Minister. He spoke of the need to liberate Indian science from the shackles and deadweight of bureaucracy and in-house favoritism. The Prime Minister launched an ambitious Sakshar Bharat Mission to catch up and meet the long felt need. By 2012, it aims to educate as many as seven million learners out of which six million will be women. With more than 400 universities and over 20,000 colleges, student enrolment in India has crossed 12.9 million in 2007 – 2008. Though millions of children go to school every day, approximately 10 million children do not go to school. NGOs like Ekal Vidyalay and Pratham are making tremendous efforts to change this in next few years. As a fast emerging world power under the stewardship of a pragmatic academic and realistic visionary, India has started playing a very constructive role on the world stage. Let us remember the quote from Tagore: “Where the mind is without fear and the head held high. Where knowledge is free and the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.... let my country awake.”
v Literacy: Increased from 12.01% to 60.06%
v Life Expectancy: Increased from 37.2 years to 69.89 years v Death Rate: Decreased from 2.7 % to 0.64 %
v Population Growth: Decreased from 6 children per woman to 2.72 children per woman. (In 1950)
v Medical Professionals: Number of Doctors Increased from 61,800 to 856,111 and Nurses from 18,504 to 865,135.
v The largest fruit producer in the world - Accounts for 10% of the world fruit production.
v India is the second largest producer of silk in the world.
v At present, the Indian railway system is the 2nd largest in the world.
v The Indian telecommunication industry is the third largest telecommunication network in the world and the second largest in terms of number of wireless connections.
v The economy of India is the twelfth largest in the world by nominal value and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).
v By 2008, India had established itself as the world’s second-fastest growing major economy.
v India has the world’s largest cattle population: 193 million.
v Production of electricity increased from 200,000 kilowatt to 704 billion kilowatt.
v India has the world’s second largest road network. Container traffic is growing at 15% a year. v The rate of inflation in 2008 was 7.8%.
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