The present work is an attempt to understand how the founding leaders of independent India envisaged and made an effort to realise the modern Indian society by rupturing the colonial legacy with the typical local, blended with the western universal principles of equality, justice, freedom and socialism. At the time of independence, most of the population of the country was backward, illiterate and poor, and was living in villages. Cities were the seats of exercise of colonial power and all decisions were taken in the urban centres. On top of all these challenges was the socio-cultural diversity of the country’s population. The members of the Constituent Assembly dominated by the Congressmen who were mostly the freedom fighters under Gandhi, took upon themselves to meet the daunting task of drafting the Constitution which would seek to resolve all contradictions and take the country on the path of not only development but also nation-building.
Imagining radiant future for India might seem quixotic during the late 1940s, but there were many such members who had the optimism of transforming India into a modern state, combining both the ancient Indian traditions with the western modernity, whereas some of them were of the convinced view that socialism was the only solution to a backward, illiterate, poor and rural India with some oases of prosperity, modernity, education and urbanism. The present work is aimed at situating the paradox created by the divergent perspectives of the members of the Constituent Assembly in the building of modern India.
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