Tomorrow's India, another tryst with destiny

Almost sixty years ago, Nehru spoke of India s tryst with destiny at the dawn of Independence. In the Constitution of the new republic that was framed a few years later, the goals and values of that vision were unfolded. How far have we progressed since then and what is it that destiny now holds for tomorrow s India? The present volume of essays surveys the scene past-forward and paints a picture of what has been accomplished and what remains to be done. There is pride and satisfaction in particular over India s vibrant democracy and progress in many directions. This is nonetheless tinged with concern, for there are nagging problems of governance and shortfalls in human and infrastructure development, as well as social deficits in the matter of rights, corruption and sectoral and regional imbalances. All these must be squarely faced and speedily overcome if the nation is to grow in keeping with its increasingly recognized potential as a rising great power. It has been widely forecast that within thirty years India, together with the United States and China, will constitute the three largest economies in the world. The wellsprings of growth are there. However, as more than one author points out, mere economic and technological growth is not enough. In this globalizing world the market is not all. The citizen must march hand in hand with the consumer in a sharing and caring society. The twenty-four essayists who write of Tomorrow s India do so in celebration of the 125th anniversary of their alma mater, Delhi s St Stephen s College. Their themes relate to diplomacy and security; the economy and technology; governance; society s watchdogs; ideology and values; social change; and culture and heritage. The authors represent a galaxy of public figures, academics, professionals and social workers. What they have to say makes compelling reading, with penetrating insights and critiques. Contributors include George Abraham, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Rukmini Banerji, Ranjit Bhatia, Ravi Dayal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Sagarika Ghose, Navina Haidar Haykel, Prem Shankar Jha, Manoj Joshi, Mukul Kesavan, Arun Kumar, Sarwar Lateef, Arun Maira, Harsh Mander, Deepak Nayyar, Bunker Roy, Vikramjit Sen, Kapil Sibal, Dilip Simeon, K. Natwar Singh, N.K. Singh, B.G. Verghese and Sitaram Yechury