60 YEARS - HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!

60 YEARS - HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED ... AND KEEP CHANGING!

On July 25, 2007, a major milestone in India was laid when the people elected Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil as their 13th President. She is the first woman to hold that post. A conundrum ensued when the word for President in Hindi, the national language, referred only to a male. We are certainly not in the India of 1947, as the statistics below reveal.

SOME COMPARATIVE STATISTICS FOR INDIA

In 1947........................................................... In 2007

Population 300 Million............................. 1.13 Billion

Life Expectancy 31.4 Years......................... 64.7 Years

Literacy 14%................................................ 67%

Telephones 1.1 Million.............................. 218 Million

Doctors 50,000 ....................................... 554,000

Infant Mortality 146/1000...................... 58/1000

National Highways 19,634 km ................. 65,569 km

Per Capita Income US$204....................... US$735

Cheapest Car US$240................................ US$5,000

Defense Budget US$744 M.......................... US$225 B

On August 15, 2007, India turned sixty. In 1947, when India gained its independence from the British, many noted scholars, writers and statesmen didn't give the young nation much of a chance of survival. The great Winston Churchill, known for his grasp of history, said: "India will fall back quite rapidly through the centuries into the barbarism and privations of the Middle Ages." Well, he was quite wrong. India not only survived but survived as a thriving democracy.

India has done what Europe has been attempting to do without success for the last 50 years. India may be slightly smaller in size than the European Union today but has twice the population and is more diverse with many more religions, languages and cultures. India has a common currency, a Central government. In fact, Indians have been practicing the motto of the European Union "United in Diversity" for the past 60 years. The currency note in India describes its value in as many as 17 languages. Although English and Hindi are the first two, the presence of 15 other languages is an acknowledgment of the country's multi-lingual status.

Undoubtedly, it has not been easy. We've had linguistic agitations, separatist movements, sectarian violence, divisive politics and some abysmally inept leaders. We've had to battle poverty, centuries old traditions and superstitions and also paid the price for decades of socialist style economic practices. We have endured one of the world's most stifling bureaucracies and suffered the deeds of truly venal and hugely corrupt politicians. Former US ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith aptly described India as a "functioning anarchy."

Now that India is seen by the world as a youthful, energetic, emerging 21st century global power and as the world's largest democracy, it is easy to forget the underpinnings of this country and the struggles to achieve it.

Even so, the church in India continues to struggle for its growth and visibility.

The above is edited from a reflection Vinita Bhatia compiled from various printmedia. It appeared in the August, 2007, Seek Partners International newsletter. Vinita's husband, Dr. Sukhwant Bhatia, is currently a BGU Regent whose focus is assisting with the establishment of the BGU Indian education network.