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In the immediate aftermath of independence India faced challenges at multiple levels. Firstly, it was country vast in geographical expanse and diversity. Secondly, the society was plagued with disparity, inequality and illiteracy. Thirdly, in economic sphere poverty was rampant after the ravages of centuries of colonial rule and industry as well as agriculture was in abysmal shape. These challenges led to many observers predict the disintegration of India, especially as it adopted a democratic system of government despite not possessing the conditions considered to be necessary for democracy to flourish.
However, strength of the nascent nation lay in the fact that it was endowed with natural resources and industrious people. Also, the national struggle had provided leadership, institutions and experiences that would aid in facing the challenges mentioned earlier. Thus, the challenges over the time shaped the key goals to be achieved in the process of nation building and making India a success story.
In concrete terms the challenges facing India at the time of independence have been variously identified as:
1. The first and immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the diversity in our society. Due to the large landscape, different cultures with different regions and religions, variety of spoken languages, many people widely believed that a country with such amount of diversity could not remain together for long.
2. The second challenge was to establish democracy. India adopted representative democracy based on the parliamentary form of government. These features strived to ensure that the political competition would take place in a democratic framework. The challenge was to develop democratic practices in accordance with the constitution.
3. The third challenge was to ensure inclusive development and well-being of the entire society. Due to the widespread poverty, the real challenge now was to evolve effective polices for economic development and eradication of poverty.
These can be also seen as the goals to be achieved by independent India:
♤ Preserving, consolidating and strengthening territorial integrity and fostering national unity
♤ Developing democratic consciousness and institutionalizing it.
♤ Ensuring economic development and self-reliance.
The issue of national integration and unity involved both internal and external aspects. The internal elements included the issue of princely states, linguistic regions and inter-communal relations especially in the aftermath of partition. External elements included, situation in the neighborhood and the evolving international environment.