Page 17 - Abhivruddhi
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The Utopia of the Economic Superpower?


            Discussions are currently underway on which our country will be the
          superpower in the world. A country like China has become an economic
          superpower, and based on that it is trying to become a military superpower.
          China is trying to establish its supremacy over more and more lands around
          the world through economic as well as military might. The United States
          has already crossed that line. Russia had already achieved this goal in the
          form of the Soviet Union, but due to internal disputes within itself, the
          superpower collapsed and tore apart in fifteen pieces. Now Russia is once
          again striving to achieve its original goal. Both Germany and Japan were
          military superpowers before World War II and had made a great effort
          to conquer the whole world. That attempt failed. Both countries suffered
          immense losses during the war. Both countries are now trying to replace
          it with an economic and industrial superpower. Against this backdrop,
          when our Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced two years ago that
          India would be a  $5 trillion economy by 2025, our economic strength
          would be two and a half times greater than it was two years ago. When
          this announcement was made, it was natural to have a heated discussion
          on it. Does India want to compete for supremacy? Is India planning to
          become a superpower and swallow up its neighbors? Some people think
          so. On the contrary, no matter how much a frog swells, it cannot grow
          as big as a bull. In reality, millions of people in India are starving due to
          poverty. Therefore, it may sound like fantasy to talk about a $5 trillion
          economic goal. What is the reality of these two extremes? What exactly
          does India want to achieve? What exactly does India have to do to achieve
          that? This needs to be discussed.
            India is an ancient nation. The culture of India is very ancient. No
          country other than India has a history of more than ten thousand years.
          During this long period of history, India has created a happy, prosperous
          and strong society. India was being talked about all over the world as a
          golden sparrow. Various goods made in India were being exported all over
          the world. Students from all over the world flocked to India (Takshashila,
          Nalanda, Vallabhi, Vikramshila, Odantapuri, Mithila, Nadia and Kashi)to
          get up-to-date knowledge on various subjects. The Indian emperors had
          huge armies. They had the capabilities of conquering the world if they
          wanted to. But wherever the Indians went, they imparted their culture to
          the society. (Sharad Hebbalkar,2014) . It taught them how to farm, trained
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