Modernization In India

Out of Japan, China, and India, India has arguably faced the most challenges out of all three on its road to modernization. It is hard to assess the weight of the challenges each country faced due to the different nature of each one of them albeit similarities between some of them. India comes out with the slightly more difficult past as there is still today a struggling effort to modernize as well as from the past. The challenges of the past that were instrumental in shaping India to what it is today. If one was to compare all three and hand the runner up trophy for most challenges faced it would be China. While not to discount the struggles of the Japanese, their history is not brimmed with as many social struggles that and external influences

India has never really had a strong sense of national identity until the time the Indian National Congress was formed in 1885. While this might not be the first sign of the increasing national identity the people of India are having, it is a strong indicator that it has reached major point. The last major step that India had to undergo in order to modernize is to become independent from British rule. There were many who attempted, in their own way, to move India forward to the path of independence from the British Empire, one of the more notable subjects was Mohandas K. Gandhi. Gandhi’s use of non-violent protest and skillful use of writing to persuade fellow Indian’s to joining his cause in acquiring independence for India. While the British rule was much better than that of the EIC, it still lacked the care and consciousness it should have for the people it governs. The British exploited the people of India with high taxes and using natural resources with unequal compensation. The exploitation was occurring with little given in return to the Indian people who mostly lived in poverty in comparison to Great Britain and those who directly benefit from their rule. India became restless around the beginning of the 20th century in which demands for an Independent India became increasingly regular. The culminating point of which independence was desired was when the

Poverty is a big issue for India which has a very big population at very poor and poor. (BB: India’s Democracy) Basic utilities such as water and electricity are still an issue for the poorer regions of the country. These issues are much more prominent in India than they are in China or in Japan who have had more time to deal with these issues. India’s path to modernity is not over and it is still ongoing. When comparing India with China it is difficult to assess which of the two has had the most difficulty in modernizing. While China’s history is filled with revolutions and blood shed, India’s history is filled with oppression and complete dominion by foreign powers such as the EIC. The reason why India is still struggling to modernize is because of this time that was dominated by powers that had little interest in helping India achieve modernity. China and Japan were eventually able to overcome most their challenges and become major world powers. India is on the rise to becoming a major world power but it still lacks modernity to fully do so. Until India becomes more modern it will be difficult for it to make any big contributions