Today we celebrate 68 Years of having been freed of the British Rule. We have had 67 Years since that historic day to create our own place under the sun. After we won freedom, Jawaharlal Nehru and his planners attempted an Industrial revolution through the agency of the state. Nehru was in two minds – to follow the principles of socialism under the guise of Democracy. They did not trust the private entrepreneurs, so they made the state the entrepreneur. Not to mention that Nehru’s experiment failed miserably and if he had lived to this day he would have seen how he wasted the 40 odd years between him and his dictatorial daughter’s autocratic legacy have done more harm to an young India which could have been a developed Country today, a leading economy today rather than by some 20-30 years hence. We surely missed out a lot, paying a huge price for their follies.

The transformation in the mindset is evident when the paradigm shift from “Made In India” to “MAKE in India”. It is a very important factor in carrying forth the legacy that was unleashed by the Late PM P.V.Narasimha Rao along with his protege and very capable Finance Minister who understood the nuances of Economy Shri. Manmohan Singh to bring in the era of Competition. Competition a rather unheard of word in the context of the Indian Industry hitherto-fore. Something which eluded the eco-system of say a Rahul Bajaj who would continue to make Scooters which he was damn sure that ‘consumers’ would be ‘forced’ to buy and wait for long periods of waiting to acquire one. Or having the jackpot of finally getting the status symbol of being the only House to boast of a Telephone Connection. Something which was so cherished that you had to continuously make sure that you did noting to annoy the Telephone Line-Man. The way we dealt with him all honey and sugar, on the hindsight would seem almost amusing.

There were a lot of things which were wrong with our growth mantras. We had adopted an inward looking, import-banned/substitute path when it should have been the opposite. So when Modi asserts again and again MAKE in India he is chanting the right mantra – looking at an outward looking, export-oriented/promoting path, thus trying to have a share in the World Trade & prosperity. Over the last 67 Years we have built a massive, inefficient and monopolistic public sector which was state controlled thereby making it totally unproductive and have an poor capital-output ratio. Add to that the ‘lethargy’ to work and anything related to Government / Public Sector became the butt of inefficiency. How one got into the secured halo of a ‘Government Job’ which was path to financial & Job security. The Job was for keeps whether you worked or not. We had an era where work came last always and every-time.

So many Prime Ministers came and went, 67 Speeches were rhetorically mouthed from the ramparts of the Red Fort, but none have been as direct and relevant as the extempore speech given by the PM Narender Modi of an resurgent India. He has really taken an outsider’s view and a very good one at that. Unfortunately we wish that this had happened some 68 years back. We would have saved ourselves trillions of crores which we have paid to all the reluctant “workers” employed in the Government Jobs and working in the Public Sector. The Crores of rupees which the Members of all Assemblies have ‘spent’ with little or no visibility. But let this not be a time to rue what we have lost. It can never be changed. But we can surely write of the losses of the last 67 years and take a firm step in the right direction. Whether it is a Modi or anyone else it is actually the power of the people. The awareness which has managed to put in a firm and stable government in place is the first baby step which we have taken in 67 years. At least we have started walking. So like Mr. Modi says we can take year by year – setting agendas small agendas, basic agendas, Sanitation, Model Villages etc etc which would eventually see the replication rub off into creating the Super India. I don’t see any point in aiming to become a Super Power – what are we bullies, but I definitely would want to realise the cliche that we grew up reading in our civics books, that India used to be a Land of Plenty Riches…the sone ki chidiya…Jai Hind.