The 15th of August marks the day that India achieved its independence from Britain in 1947. It has indeed kept its tryst with destiny in many areas like poverty alleviation, health, infrastructure and education, but never in its 78 years has it looked so weakened and at the mercy of other countries, as it does today.
Independence? What independence?
Four years ago, Afghanistan was liberated from the 20-year American occupation and got Independence on 15 August 2021. Since then it has seen massive investments (and therefore, control) by China in its three main areas of interest: security (against separatists), connectivity (access to Central Asia for its Belt and Road Initiative) and Mining. In fact it is now as vassalised by China as Pakistan.
Independence? What independence?
By a curious irony, on 15 August 2025, the world sees a summit meeting of its two most belligerent power blocs, at Anchorage, Alaska. This meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States has been designated by some observers as Yalta 2.0. The original Yalta Summit of 1945, ended up carving post-war Europe between the West and the Soviet Union, and this time it is expected that Ukraine will be similarly divided between a victorious Russia and giant corporate conglomerates of the West.
Somewhere along the way the sanctions against Russian oil will be lifted or diluted and there will be India, hat in hand, hoping that it is spared the punitive 50% tariffs for breaking the original sanctions on Russian oil. India’s position is morally weakened by the fact that the chief beneficiary of this ill-advised oil import was not the Government of India, nor the Indian consumer, but the private refineries who re-exported this oil to Europe. And to think that in the heyday of the Non-Aligned Movement, India was the world’s conscience!
Independence? What independence?
However, the longest-term damage that India has inflicted on itself is the total subjugation of its intellectual capital to western systems and frameworks whether in classic research and development, or the emerging IT and AI sectors. It is no surprise that NOT ONE of the 20 globally most used apps and software was created in India. The resulting drain of expertise created and subsidised by Indian taxpayers to the West, and chiefly the USA, has not only debilitated our human resources, but also given these countries more leverage on Indian foreign policy by weaponising things like the H-1B visa.
Independence? What independence?
Ironically the only truly independent country in the world today is that much maligned autocratic monolith – China. But they have always preferred to use the word ‘self dependent’ instead of independent, and that should also be India’s path ahead: Self reliance as already denoted by ‘swadheen’ on this Swadheenta Divas.
Jai Hind!
Development and Governance 