President Pratibha Patil, the first woman to be elected president of the republic, in an address to the nation on Tuesday called for `inclusive economic growth` that would benefit all sections of India`s billion-plus population.
India`s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will carry on that tradition to address the nation from the ramparts of the 17th century historic Red Fort, the massive sandstone structure built by the Mughal emperors who ruled much of modern-day India before the British arrived.
Six decades earlier, on the midnight of Aug 14, 1947, the country`s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made a soul-stirring speech when he spoke about the rare moment when `soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance`.
The event also marked one of the most violent communal upheavals of the 20th century in the sub-continent. More than a million people were killed in communal violence that followed the partition. Some 10 million people also moved across borders in one of history`s largest mass migrations as the princely states under the British rule were split into Muslim Pakistan, which celebrated its independence on Tuesday, and Hindu-majority India.
Six decades later, a resurgent and confident India is set to observe a significant milestone in its `tryst with destiny, with the country finally asserting its rightful place as a major global player,` a democratically vibrant secular fabric, a robust economy that is attracting the global attention and a rising power set to dominate world politics in the coming decades.
India is racing to become an economic powerhouse and lightning growth has transformed the country and fueled a consumer boom. Economic freedom has improved dramatically since the reforms of 1991. Some controls continue, but a large portion of the task of restoring economic freedom is complete.
But behind the euphoria of India`s magnificent economic growth is stark realization that a significant portion of the country`s one billion population is not benefiting from that growth. Indian children are more likely to be malnourished than African ones, and the country is home to about a third of the people across the world who lives on less than $1 a day.
The people who have really benefited from India`s economic growth are the rich and the upper middle classes. The big cities and urban areas are witnessing the impact of this economic growth. However, a visit to the rural areas where India`s vast majority of population lives brings out the stark reality. Things have not changed much for them since independence. Basic necessities like healthcare, shelter, electricity, clean drinking water, educational opportunities are lacking.
As India has grown over 60 years, so have security fears and terror threats. As secessionists and Islamic militants continue their terror attacks; the celebrations Wednesday will see unprecedented security deployment across the country.
Relations between India and Pakistan have improved since the start of a peace process in 2004, although mutual distrust still lingers across the subcontinent.
US President George Bush on Tuesday evening called on PM Manmohan Singh to convey the greetings of the government and people of the United States on the 60th Anniversary of India`s Independence.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Gordon Brown congratulated India on the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain.
In a statement released by the foreign ministry, Britain`s monarch told Indian President that she had `much pleasure in sending you and the people of the Republic of India. My very best wishes on the occasion of your 60th anniversary of independence`.
Brown, meanwhile, told his counterpart Manmohan Singh: `I celebrate the strength of the UK-India relationship. Our history, values and hopes are, and will remain, permanently intertwined.`
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