Indian celebrates 60 years of independence from the British
in 2007, not long before Mao founded the People’s Republic of China. No country
it might be argued has more valiantly pursued the promise of democracy, messy
as it is.
India is struggling to be one nation – like China, its diverse ethnic regions could make up many nations.
Against the odds of staggering poverty, religious passion, linguistic pluralism, regional separatism, caste injustice and resource scarcity, Indians have lifted themselves largely by their own sandals to become an emerging global power. Its Gandhi-inspired nonviolent struggle for independence was followed by mayhem and bloodletting, dynastic power plays, assassinations, military defeats and victory, political leaders as saints and sinners. Its an epic story commensurate with its epic Bhagavad Gita.
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