Tryst with Destiny: Free India’s First Half-Century

Description

The book begins with a quotation from the speech which Jahawarlal Nehru delivered when India became free on August 15, 1947:

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny and now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge. At the stroke of the midnight hour, while the world sleeps, India will awaken to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes only rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."

The history of free India's first half century has shown that Nehru was mistaken in thinking that, when India became independent, the old India had passed away and that a new India had been born. He made that mistake because he believed that the soul of India, when it had been freed from foreign suppression, would become enshrined in the new India. In reality, India's soul had all along been enshrined in the old India. So it was not surprising that, during the years that followed Nehru's August 15, 1947 speech, the old India blotted out the new. The worldly goal of the new India, according to Nehru, was to build a humane and prosperous society that would provide a good life for all its people. The worldly goal of the old India was not to remake the world of India but to put up with its sufferings. Looking back over the fifty years that have elapsed since Nehru spoke to the world from above the gate of the Red Fort in Delhi, one would have to say that, during these five decades, the worldly goal of the new India had been eclipsed by the worldly goal of the old India. Looking forward toward the next fifty years, one would have to say that free India will probably do a better job of achieving the worldly goal of the old India during its second half century than it did of achieving the worldly goal of the new India during its first half century.

Singavore Polytechnic Graduates Guild's Newsletter: "1997 is India's 5O~ year of independence. Since she gained independence, what has she achieved in a haifa century? How has the common people's life improved? Paul Dettman looks at India past and present. He contrasts the different social, economic, and political stages of the two ages. Since India gained independence, the quality of life has not improved much. The poor have become poorer and the rich have become richer. Being a pioneer and model of the post-colonial ages does not help her to progress at a tremendous rate. Instead it led to her self-destruction due to her exploding population. What would the future hold for India? The author projects several scenarios in terms of politics, society. and the environment. Read this book to find out more. "