As of: 08/15/2022 4:57 p.m
India and Pakistan became independent states 75 years ago. The soon to be most populous country on earth then developed rapidly – but to this day large parts of the population cannot participate.
A carrier rocket brings satellites into their orbit – a routine process for the state Indian space organization for a long time. India has developed into a high-tech location in some areas. The country’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world.
When Viceroy Louis Mountbatten, appointed by the British colonial power, announced India’s independence 75 years ago, it quickly became clear that the huge country would not be politically and economically oriented towards Anglo-Saxon capitalism.
Indian historian Anirudh Deshpande from the University of Delhi describes the country’s cautious course at first: “It wasn’t really socialism, you wanted to avoid the extremes – both those of capitalism and those of communism.”
India’s IT – a billion dollar business
Initially, the country largely isolated itself from the world market. India’s industry developed comparatively weakly. However, the huge service sector and agriculture were not sufficient for major development spurts. And so the Indian government finally decided in the 1990s to open up the country much more to the world market.
“There is no doubt that opening up had its advantages,” says historian Anirudh Deshpande today. “We’ve had a real revolution in telecommunications and we’ve come a long way in terms of software.”
Indian IT services are now exported all over the world – a billion dollar business. The country timely trained millions of young people in this field. More and more Indians are making the leap out of poverty.
Increasing military spending
But a look at the sidewalks of New Delhi in the evening also shows how blatant the social problems still are despite the boom: Day laborers sleep here tightly packed on simple straw mats. The upswing passes by hundreds of millions of Indians.
Anyone who earns more than 300 euros a month is among the richest ten percent in the country, Deshpande reminds them: “You can imagine how much those at the other end of the scale earn.”
Shaking hands at the Pakistan-India border: Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day one day before India, on August 14th. Old rivalries smolder behind the conciliatory gestures.
Image: AFP
Looking at China and Pakistan
Despite this, India aspires to a more influential role in the world. Ever higher military spending is intended to secure the country’s sovereignty over powerful neighbor China and arch-rival Pakistan.
A mistake, believes historian Deshpande. India’s military budget is many times what the country spends on education or health care: “That means people would rather buy cannons than butter. That’s a waste of resources. That’s of little use to the country.”
India has undoubtedly made remarkable progress in its 75 years of independence. However, large parts of its population are still waiting to share in these successes.