APRIL 24 The National Agenda

APRIL 24 The National Agenda Former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru once observed: ‘Freedom is in peril, defend it with all your might.’ Today one can rightly say: everything including freedom, is in peril. Save it with all your might. Prior to 1947 we believed that there was only one obstacle in the path of a prosperous India, and that was political subjugation by the British. Once we gained political freedom, we were going to wipe the tears from all eyes. Partition, no doubt, was an evil. In fact, I would call it one of the greatest blunders of the entire human history. However, I do not agree with those who say that partition is to blame for the state of affairs in the subcontinent. The issue is somewhat different. As far as the present sad situation of our nation is concerned, there is absolutely no justification for our failures. It is our leadership alone which is responsible for this malady. The reason I hold that the partition of the country cannot be responsible for the national tragedy, is because after second world war several countries (Germany, for instance) were partitioned, yet developed later into advanced countries. Similarly, India too, in spite of partition, could have secured a position at the top of the list of advanced nations. Why did this not happen? This requires serious thought. After the second world war, India, just like other Asian countries, had every opportunity to reconstruct itself. In the ensuing fifty year period, many countries, notably Korea, Singapore and Japan, transformed themselves into up-to-date, highly developed countries. Today, the citizens of these countries have access to all kinds of modern facilities, while Indians are still just dreaming about them. Given the very great reserves of human and physical resources possessed by India, isn’t there something very strange about this? But this failure to parallel development elsewhere is not as significant, or indeed as serious as the fact that after half a century of stormy politics, no acceptable concept of nationhood has evolved in our country. India still remains a nation in the making. Men of vision predicted this state of affairs long ago. But the results of the general elections in April-May have made it even more apparent that India is, if