Atmanirbhar Bharat Debate Moves From Swadeshi to the 2047 Vision
SHIMLA, SEPTEMBER 24: The journey from Swadeshi and Swaraj to Atmanirbhar Bharat and the vision of a developed India by 2047 came under discussion as academicians gathered at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Rashtrapati Niwas, Shimla, for a two-day national seminar.
The seminar assumes significance against the backdrop of the Narendra Modi government's vision of making India a developed nation by 2047 — the year that will mark 100 years of India's Independence. The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat is being positioned as an important part of that longer-term national vision.
The seminar, “The Quest for Atmanirbhar Bharat: From the Past, Through the Present, to the Future,” seeks to examine self-reliance in the context of India's intellectual traditions and the challenges before the country in the years ahead.
The discussion is not limited to the economic meaning of Atmanirbharta. Scholars are examining the idea through the Indian Knowledge Tradition, Swadeshi, Swaraj, Integral Humanism and the foundational values of the Constitution.
Education, technology, healthcare, sustainable development, women-led development and the changing global environment are also part of the deliberations.
A key question emerging from the seminar is whether ideas discussed in academic institutions can travel beyond scholarly forums and contribute to the larger national conversation on India's development.
Will the academic discourse reach the policy table? That remains an open question. As national institutions work on the long-term vision for Viksit Bharat, the discussions at IIAS raise the possibility of a wider dialogue between scholarship and institutions involved in planning and governance, including NITI Aayog and the Prime Minister's Office.
The inaugural session began with the National Song, followed by the welcome address and introduction to the theme by Dr Aayushi Ketkar, Assistant Professor, Special Centre for National Security Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and convener of the seminar.
Prof. Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIAS, delivered the Chair's Address. The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Rajeev Kumar Mishra, Librarian and Academic Resource Officer, IIAS.
The first academic session included presentations on the Indian Knowledge Tradition as a foundation for Viksit Bharat, Integral Humanism, education and Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Atmanirbhar Bharat led by Chiti.
The subsequent session took up holistic humanism, the foundational spirit of the Constitution and the journey from self-reliance to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
The two-day seminar concludes on September 25. Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta will preside over the valedictory session. Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, Asiatic Society, Mumbai, will deliver the valedictory address online.
The programme will also feature the release of four books, presentation of the seminar report and an address by Shri Prafulla Ketkar, Editor and Organiser, Bharat Prakashan, Delhi.
The larger significance of the exercise may ultimately lie in what happens after the seminar — whether its academic conversations remain within scholarship or become part of the continuing national debate on what Atmanirbhar Bharat should mean for India by 2047.
#AtmanirbharBharat #ViksitBharat #IIASShimla #India@2047
