Book
History of India: The 20th Century
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Москва, 2010, 920 p.
The book “History of India: The 20th Century” is part of a series of books on the contemporary history of the countries of the East, including Asia and Northern Africa, published by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The authors of this volume Dr F.N.Yurlov and Dr E.S.Yurlova are known experts on India.
The present volume deals with the contemporary political history of India. It embraces the period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. The research is well documented. Based on Russian and foreign past studies, it uses some of the recently declassified documents as well as new publications which were brought out after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In six decades of Independence India has moved along the path of transformation from a colonial socio-economic structure to state capitalism based on mixed economy with important elements of a social safety net. It ensured evolutionary development escaping revolutions and social explosions in a country with extreme socio-economic backwardness, huge unemployment and poverty of the major part of the population. One may say that India has proposed its own model of development. It has succeeded in building basic branches of modern industries, attaining economic self-sufficiency, creating qualified cadres of scientists, engineers and workers.
Modernization of economy and high rate of economic growth enabled India’s people to raise their level of life. During this period, per capita income increased 2.5 fold, literacy – 3.5 fold, expected longevity – more than twice, from 32 to 67 years. Such socio-economic progress was achieved in the conditions of stability based on democracy which is deeply rooted in the Indian society. At the same time, these achievements could not negate the serious problems and shortcomings faced by the Indian society. Most important among them are poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, India puts forward a very ambitious task to join the ranks of the world leading states. It has created a number of prerequisites to achieve this goal. Among them are a multimillion middle class, and a great number of educated people. Today’s India is a young energetic country able to rapidly move forward.