INDIA:India celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence from British rule yesterday as a confident nation poised to achieve its destiny as a major global player, writes Rahul Bediin New Delhi
But Prime minister Manmohan Singh warned more than 1.2 billion countrymen against over-confidence in the booming economy many are convinced will soon render the country a superpower.
"I assure you that for each one of you, and for our country, the best is yet to come," Mr Singh predicted in his traditional independence day speech from behind a bulletproof screen on the ramparts of the capital's 17th-century Red Fort built by a Mughal king.
"We have a long march ahead," he warned, adding that India cannot become a nation where the benefits of growth are not inclusive and accrue only to a few.
But some of the problems that afflict India erupted in the two insurgency-ridden northeastern states of Tripura and Assam in the form of bomb blasts and a paramilitary was killed in an ambush.
Security was tight across the country, particularly in the northern war-torn Kashmir province where mobile phone services were shut down to prevent the usual independence day violence.
Yesterday's celebrations came a day after neighbouring Pakistan, carved out of India in 1947 at the end of British colonial rule, marked its own independence. Over one million people died in the rioting that followed the announcement of the subcontinent's partition, while another 10 million were displaced.
Pakistan's independence was fixed a day earlier than India's so that the last British viceroy - and later governor general - Lord Louis Mountbatten could attend both ceremonies in August 1947.
The different dates also stem partially from the newly formed Muslim country wanting to be different to the larger neighbour it considers a bully.
Helicopters patrolled the skies and sharpshooters were deployed on rooftops as Mr Singh unfurled the national flag after inspecting a guard of honour.
Thousands of schoolchildren, dressed in the orange, white and green of the Indian flag - not dissimilar to the Irish colours - sang patriotic songs. Mr Singh's cabinet ministers, diplomats and foreign dignitaries were also present.
"We need at least a decade of hard work and of sustained growth to realise our dreams. We have to bridge the many divides in our society and work with a unity of purpose," Mr Singh said.
To bolster the ailing agriculture sector, he confirmed a $6 billion (€4.5 billion) package, called for a revolution in education and pledged to set up a pension scheme and improved healthcare. He also promised 6,000 new schools as one-third of the population remains illiterate. "Poverty eradication is now a feasible goal," he said. Absent from his speech was any talk of rival Pakistan with whom India has fought three wars. An 11-week border skirmish in 1999 saw 1,200 soldiers die.
Analysts, however, dismissed Mr Singh's proposals as routine rhetoric. "It was high on promises but low on deliverances," said renowned sociologist Dipankar Gupta.