At the dawn of 1947, a newly independent nation filled with passion and idealism, its people charged with fervour to carve out a unique identity by and for themselves, declared itself a parliamentary democracy. We were poor but idealistic, a large country but united, our leaders young but full of visionary zeal and promise.

Straddling the world's stage for the first time as a free country and trying to ensure for itself a space and respect in that capacity, India began its journey in many ways. Today, it is time for us to look closely at that nation and the image we were trying to build.

The building of a nation is a tortuous affair. Even at 60, we are a young nation. Nevertheless, we have grown as a nation and as a people. We have matured enough to arrive at a definitive phase, wherein the certitudes of the past are being interrogated by the imperatives of the present and the temptations of the future. As a country, we have grown up to an extent where we are more aware about the gap between what we wished to achieve and where we are.

Given this, how do we judge what has changed 60 years after 1947? Perhaps one way is to take a few key areas and attempt to gauge the flux within, and understand how they create and mould the image of India and Indians abroad.

There are four areas where we have matured as a nation. The first is the improbable but definitive survival of democracy. We come from an incorrigibly stratified society where egalitarianism was not one of the sustaining principles. But democracy has survived and become a way of life in this country.

Democracy makes the less privileged stakeholders in the system, and acts as a safety valve against deprivations and frustrations. Democracy is the real check to the elitist tendencies of the entrenched. Otherwise, the successful would have seceded to form their own republic long ago.

The second area is that we are finally mature enough to understand our strengths. Entrepreneurship is one of them. We love our spiritual halo, largely given to us by others, but have our feet on the ground and our eyes on the balance sheet. We are resolute entrepreneurs and, after 1991 in particular, there has been new sanction and acceptability for entrepreneurship.

One proof of this is that a majority of leading entrepreneurs today are first-generation success stories. These are signs of a nation more mature, more aware of its intrinsic strengths and talents and more willing to base policies based on this.

The third area is new successes in technology, which in turn is linked to entrepreneurship. The fourth is the gradual development of a new notion of pan-Indianness.

When India began its journey in 1947, many believed it was unlikely to survive. True, India is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation, but there is an underlying civilisational unity that is bound to be there in a society that has evolved in a common crucible for 5,000 years.

Over the past 60 years, through a process of gradual accretion, job opportunities, All India Radio, Doordarshan, cable television, films, domestic tourism, consumerism, communication technology revolution and many other ways, the salad bowl of India has grown into a melting pot. People across the country hum the same songs, wear the same clothes, buy the same things, like the same foods and watch the same television programmes. It has, therefore, given to an Indian, in any part of the country, more than one symbol to identify with the country as a whole.

Brand India, as it is emerging today, is a continuation of these four factors, and of a qualitatively new nature. The important thing, however, is that India cannot be seen in categories of black and white. There is a rising tumult beneath its traditional features and an unchanging serenity underlying its dialogue with the modern world. It depends on what you see, or even more importantly, what you cannot.

Courtesy: The Week, April 13, 2008