Introduction
India is a diverse nation geographically located in Southern Asia. It was a British colony and earned its independence in 1947. However, even with the independence in 1947, the colonialists did not leave the country until 1950. This is the main reason why the nation considers itself as having become independent in 1950. As a country, India did not originally have any sense of identity (identity in this context meaning clear-cut knowledge of its culture, traditions and way of governance). Instead, it was a diverse country, with different rulers in different regions of the land. It should be noted that all these different regions had their ways of doing things and even had some differences in language, but distantly shared their religious cultures. Thus, it should be understood that Hinduism was part of the earliest India and has been with it even though the era of reformation and the shaping of the Indian cultures and traditions. This had a great influence on the reforms that had set in as earlier as 1800. Thus, this paper seeks an analysis of the reforms that have taken place in India, since 1800.
Body
As a nation, India’s historical background is very important in explaining the reforms that have taken place within its systems over the years. Many symbols in the country deeply explain its reform journey and one of them is its flag. India’s flag has a “spinning wheel” at its center, symbolic of the Mahatma Gandhi’s approaches and forces against the colonial forces. This, further, is symbolic of its “aggressive” approach towards development, following a long period of economic regression and suppression by the British colonialists. However, even with such great figures as Mahatma Gandhi, India, before the dawn of the 19th Century that is regarded as the “era” of reforms, had experienced some dynasties that were perceived as “great empires”. One of such dynasties was the Mogul Empire (Robb, 1993).
The history of the Mogul Empire is always sought, especially when explaining major events in the development of India. This Empire was founded in the early 1400 and stretched from the Eastern part of India towards the Central region. Closely associated with this great empire was the East India Company which spread its powers over time to the extent that it commanded a majority region in India. As early as the 17th century, this company had been given the authority and power to collect revenues in the whole country on the behalf of the Emperor of the Mogul Empire. It is interesting to note that the company, established in the province of Bengal, had very negative effects on the economic status of the people of Bengal. Instead of the people (natives) reaping benefits from it, the company sapped the resources they had and left them poor, a move that led to the 1969-1970 famine that “struck” India. The company acted on its own interests, overlooking the needs of the people among which it had been established, but instead sought to satisfy the British rulers from whom it got the powers to spread. Besides, with the rise of Lord Dalhousie to power in the 1840s, the people of India could not withstand his harsh policies. This led to the 1857-58 Rebellion against his rule. Just immediately after the rebellion had cooled, the Company was dissolved, even with its massive aid to the military (Wolpert, 2008).
Despite the dissolution of the East India Company, the British government in India kept a strong grip on the nation and siphoned most of its resources to her home country. This led to a rise in the economy of British and a decline in that of British India. This went on for a long period, until the days of Mahatma Gandhi’s fiscal “revolution”, where he led the masses to protest against the dealings of the British Government in India that saw to the oppression of the native Indian. With this revolution, many reforms were picked in different systems of the country. With the change of political climate in India, which created a multi-party political environment, India had made a clear setting for many reform agendas that would see her rise beyond the economic stagnation her colonialists had left her in. Many reforms; economic, industrial, agricultural and even labor reforms, have been advocated for within the premises of a reformed political structure. With her struggle to become a developed nation, the country has focused on many important changes in her social, political and economic systems, to raise the living standards of her people (Sachs, 2000).
Labor reforms, for instance, have given the power to the Indian workers, giving them a bargaining chip for their rights that had been neglected for a very long time. This, it will be realized, has allowed for policies that protect the workers against uncalled for discriminatory and oppressing acts by the employers. As Owen (1912) notes, India will only realize true economic development when the workers have been empowered and their needs satisfied. This is true since the frequent strikes initially have gone down, following the reforms that are taking place in the labor sector. Besides, the reforms on infrastructure perpetuate for an economic-independent India, since the economic activities have been made easier. The reforms in the Agricultural sector, which has been a major area for the Prime Minister in his reform agenda, are a positive influence towards raising the standards of the poor farmers. Though the country gains only approximately 22% of its GDP from Agriculture, it will be noted that with support from the political system, this area has the potential of raising the living standards of the poor citizens in India (Corbridge & Harris, 1992).
Conclusion
Looking at the way India has developed over time, it will be noted that the history of the country was central in shaping most of the policies that are being advocated for and even implemented. It should be noted that industrialization in India and even trade alliances with other International countries have been the main reform efforts by the recent and even the present Indian governments. This also explains the aggressiveness with which India has entered the world of technology, with full knowledge of the power in technology. Further, in recent years, most of her efforts majored in education, making an emphasis on the need for an educated society that could keep at par with the outside world.
Reference List
Corbridge, Stuart and Harris, John. (1992). Reinventing India. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Owen, S. James. (1912). The Fall of the Mogul Empire. Delhi: Kessinger Publishers.
Robb, Peter. (1993). A History of India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Sachs, D. Jeffery. (2000). India in the Era of Economic Reforms. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wolpert, Stanley. (2008). A new history of India. 8th Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.